Hopefully he is level headed and is patient, and looks at players like Harry Kane’s development, as he didn’t truly break into Spurs team until he was 21. He first went on loan to league 1, Championship and Premier League teams, was 20 before he started getting regular sub appearances for Spurs.
The CF position is hard to break into in the premier league, and it is worth noting Kane was not having to break into a Spurs side that was at the level that this current City side are at present.
If he is good enough there should be no barriers but the reality is he will probably have to wait at least another couple more years, and there is no harm in that. Next season I would expect Delap to play regular for U23 and, then looking at developing him on loan at Football League Level at a club where he could expect to get regular game time.