In Alderley Edge it is not uncommon to spot a rich man ambling around in designer clothes and a hole burning in his pocket. The village, located in Cheshire’s Golden Triangle, supposedly has more millionaires per square mile than any other part of the country and enough trendy fashion stores, high-end restaurants and pretty landscapes to keep them entertained. Little wonder it is known as the “Champagne capital of Britain” and is where a host of Premier League footballers have flocked to as soon as they have hit the big-time.

Among them was Wayne Bridge, who moved into the area shortly after joining Manchester City in 2009. He was quickly and often spotted in Alderley Edge, and with a salary of £90,000 a week and a pop star girlfriend on his arm, few could blame him for living the high life. There was only one problem: he was spending more time at Rocca Boutique and the monthly farmer’s market then he was playing for City.

A little over two years after arriving at the Etihad Stadium for £10m as a fully fledged Premier League player and England international, Bridge found himself out of the team at City and training on his own. That can happen to anyone, especially at a club who maintain ambitions of achieving domestic and European domination as quickly as possible. But what made Bridge’s situation different was that he did not seem too bothered about his lack of game time.

Life on City’s bench and in Alderley Edge suited Bridge just fine. He rejected the chance to join a host of clubs, including Celtic, before eventually taking up short loan spells at West Ham and Sunderland and a season-long period at Brighton. On joining Sunderland, Bridge did say he was excited to play again and wanted to work hard. Aged 32, he then moved to Reading on a one-year deal in June 2013 before retiring from football 11 months later after sustaining a knee injury. The news went almost unnoticed and ultimately there was the sense that his was a career that had wasted away.

Which brings us on to Fabian Delph. Lost somewhat on Saturday amid an England Ashes Test win, Serena Williams’ latest Wimbledon triumph and Manchester United’s blockbuster capture of Bastian Schweinsteiger was the news that the Aston Villa midfielder had decided not to complete a proposed move to City. Yes, a footballer turning down a rise in salary and profile so he can continue the successful development of his career. Romance is not dead, after all.

Fabian Delph, here playing in England’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania, knows regular club football is a must if he is to stay in the international team. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

It had not seemed that way on Friday evening when word spread that Delph was on his way to City for a medical after they had activated an £8m release clause in his contract with Villa, a contract the 25-year-old club captain had signed six months earlier while declaring that he was “proving there is still loyalty in football”. Cue a dispiriting sense of deja vu across the country when it appeared loyalty counted for nothing amid the lure of greater riches.

Less than 24 hours later, however, Delph confirmed he was staying put. “I’m not leaving,” he said in a statement that appeared on Villa’s website around the time England were skittling out Australia. “I’m aware there has been intense media speculation surrounding my future in the last 24 hours and I want to set the record straight. I’m staying at the football club and I can’t wait for the start of the season.”

Some will insist Delph’s decision, seemingly based partly on wanting to honour that pledge of loyalty and partly on a fear of playing little football for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, shows a lack of ambition on his part. There is no doubt that by moving to City he would have improved his chances of winning honours in an instant. But what is a medal really worth when your part in obtaining it is nominal at best, when people have to look twice at you lifting a trophy because they did not recognise you the first time around?

Because while there is no doubt Delph is a talented player, a midfielder of energy, drive and intelligence, he does not yet have what it takes to be a regular in City’s first team, especially now Yaya Touré appears to be staying at the club. It is highly likely Touré and Fernandinho will feature in City’s central midfield more often than not during the coming season having made 32 and 28 Premier League and Champions League starts respectively during the 2014-15 campaign.

Delph could have competed for a place and, with Fernando having failed to impress since his £12m arrival from Porto 13 months ago, he could well have been the next man into City’s midfield. But, as stated, ambitions are high at the Etihad and there is little or no time for players of Delph’s current standing to bed themselves gradually into their surroundings.

Scott Sinclair makes a rare Manchester City appearance, against Borussia Dortmund. He left to join Aston Villa this year, initially on loan. Photograph: Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images

Every substitute appearance, every rare start, would have needed to be impactful or Delph would have been struggling against the tide before he had had the chance properly to swim in City’s sky blue waters. And that’s before Paul Pogba’s mooted arrival from Juventus is even considered. Competing for a place with the Frenchman, Delph, not to put too finer point on it, would have been stuffed.

The player has only to look across Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground for evidence of how harsh life can be at City for a relatively raw, less than stellar English talent. Scott Sinclair and Micah Richards failed to establish themselves at the club, with the former not even being given the chance to do so having made three starts in three years following his arrival from Swansea. Then there is Jack Rodwell, who arrived at City from Everton in 2012 as one of English football brightest talents before leaving for Sunderland two years later as another who could not cut the mustard at the Etihad, albeit with injuries playing a significant part in his troubles.

Perhaps Delph could have succeeded where they did not but evidence and circumstance suggest he would have become another hard-luck story.

The deal made sense from City’s point of view. They need to boost their homegrown quota in order to satisfy FA and Uefa rules (hence, in part, their £49m capture of Raheem Sterling) and for a club of their resources, spending £8m on an established Premier League performer is a no-risk outlay. But for the player himself, doing nothing is absolutely the right move.

After years of frustration at Villa – he became known as “Doctor Delph” at the club because of the amount of time he spent in the treatment room – the midfielder has become a fundamental part of Tim Sherwood’s first team as well as a regular member of Roy Hodgson’s England squad with Euro 2016 less than a year away. He is at the right place at the right time in his career and provides fresh cause for optimism among those who want to believe modern-day footballers cherish the value and joy of playing as regularly as they can.