Delph, who was the club captain at Villa Park, left for City in an £8m deal during the summer, having indicated initially that he would stay.

The manner of his departure angered Villa supporters, but Pellegrini insists that the club were looking to sell the midfielder to City.

He said: “I hope that Fabian will not get a bad reception. He played for Aston Villa for several years. Aston Villa wanted to sell him also. He was a player who gave a lot of his career for Aston Villa. I don’t think their fans will forget all of those things.