Former Aston Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov has claimed that Manchester City’s summer signing, Fabian Delph, can be as important to the SKy Blues as Frank Lampard was to Chelsea or Steven Gerrard for Liverpool.

Delph moved to Manchester City from Aston Villa in a rather controversial manner. After reports initially saying that he was about to sign for City; Delph released a statement claiming that he was not going to leave Aston Villa and join a team like Manchester City.

This was a very poor move by Delph, because he then signed for Manchester City just days later, much to the frustration of the Villa faithful, who recently booed him when he entered the field against them in the 0-0 draw between City and Aston Villa on Sunday.

However, Petrov believes that Delph can get into double figures for goals this season and be a crucial player going forward; likening him to Gerrard and Lampard.

I can see Fabian getting double-figure goals and coming to a level like Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard have done all these years, scoring important goals and deciding games. I think he still has more to offer with the ability he has got. With a team that are struggling it is harder to give him a chance to go forward more. I’ve seen in training what Fabian is capable of in the final third with his fast feet and energy – especially when teams get tired. He can find that extra yard because he has enough energy to hurt teams.

Do you agree with Petrov, can Delph be that important to Manchester City?