Football News: Stoke City Transfer Window Round Up

Image from: stisprot.com

This summer the Mark Hughes revolution continued apace at Stoke City, as the Welshman works to move the Potteries club away from the old rugged (some would say brutal) Tony Pulis way of playing and to make them an exciting attacking side. Gradually Hughes is bringing in players to excite the fans, rather than to beat the opponent into submission. The last couple of seasons were built on the foundations left him, this summer he began to dig those up to replace them too.

Has he moved the club too far away from what brought them success, or has he got it right? Only time will tell, but his managerial record prior to arriving at Stoke was mixed, he will need to get this right in what looks to be the most competitive Premier League since it launched. With all around them making significant moves to strengthen, Stoke can not afford to rest on their laurels.

The outs are interesting and show that Hughes is not convinced by the players coming through the youth system at the club, though he does have faith in young goalkeeper Jack Butland. Is Butland ready to be a number one in the Premier League? This season we will get to find out. To the outs now:

Asmir Begovic has surprisingly gone to Chelsea to be the back up to Thibaut Courtois. It is a major surprise that no one came in to make him the number one, he has shown himself to be a quality Premier League number one keeper in recent years. Chelsea have brought him in to give themselves the best goalkeeper pair in English football for another season.

Steven N'Zonzi has been sold to Sevilla, after years of agitating for a move elsewhere. His quality will be missed badly, with no player at the club able to provide what he did in recent seasons, but his attitude was always an issue. It was probably best he left, though I do fear that it will leave the club short in midfield.

Robert Huth has made his loan at Leicester City permanent now, good as he was he was not going to get games with Stoke this season. Probably the right move for both parties, though I do fear that his combative presence is missed on the pitch.

Andy Wilkinson was released. A mainstay under Pulis but his lack of quality on the ball saw him out of favour under Hughes. He is a trier but technically poor, I think it was best for the club that he was allowed to leave. He was never Premier League quality.

Alex Grant moved on a free to Perth Glory in the Australian A-League.

James Alabi became another of the growing band of free signings for Mick McCarthy's Ipswich Town.

Nathan Ricketts-Hopkinson, Elliot Wheeler, Robbie Parry and Tomi Adeloye were released.

Jamie Ness left on a free for Scunthorpe United. The young Scot was always just a cheap punt on hopeful potential, but injuries meant he never really showed what he could do.

Wilson Palacios was released. All a far cry from a few years ago when the Honduran midfielder was highly rated. Now he will have to rebuild his career, when, at the age of 30, he should be well established.

Adam Thomas joined Hednesford Town on a free transfer.

Mason Watkins has gone on loan to Conference National side Wrexham.

Daniel Bachmann has moved to SPFL side Ross County on loan.

Thomas Sorensen has been released. The veteran Danish keeper is now 39.

This has been a huge summer in terms of ins for Stoke City, bringing in players that are bigger names than previous windows. Hughes will need to work hard to mould these players into a team, but there is no doubting the quality being brought in. The ins are:

Xherdan Shaqiri was the big, drawn out transfer saga of the summer, that actually happened. Hughes had to work hard to persuade the Swiss international to swap Inter Milan for Stoke City. At 23 time is on his side to make his mark on the Premier League, he certainly has the ability. If Mark Hughes can get Shaqiri back to his best, then he can be the difference maker for the club. The worry is that he will have the same poor attitude and lack of effort he showed in recent years at Bayern Munich and Inter.

Joselu has arrived from Hannover 96. The Spanish forward will hope he can link up with fellow countryman Bojan Krkic, when Bojan returns to fitness.

Philipp Wollscheid made his loan from Bayer Leverkusen a permanent deal. Hughes saw enough in the German centre back to keep him on a long term basis.

Jakob Haugaard has joined from FC Midtjylland. The Danish keeper will hope to push Jack Butland and challenge him for his place.

Moha joined from Barcelona Juvenil A, Barcelona's U19 team.

Shay Given has arrived on a free from Aston Villa. The 39 year old will provide the veteran cover previously the job of Thomas Sorensen.

Glenn Johnson joined on a free from Liverpool. The right back has the ability to be an excellent signing but his play in recent years has been extremely poor. Hughes will have his work cut out to raise his game and get him fully focused on the game. Possibly the most frustrating player Stoke will have on their books, as he will constantly look to cut inside on to his weaker foot into blind alleys, no matter how many good options he has to do otherwise!

Marko Van Ginkel has come in on a loan from Chelsea. The central midfielder will provide some of the combative presence that has left the club in recent years, along with a bit of potential quality.

Ibrahim Afellay has joined what is becoming a trend, Barcelona to Stoke City, as the Dutch winger joins on a free. Are we going to get to the point where Barca are Stoke's feeder club? Or could it just be that Barca's cast offs are good enough for the Premier League?

Dom Telford has arrived from Blackpool's youth teams, as the ongoing shambles of the Oyston family ownership threatens to destroy that club.

All in all, the only conclusion that can be drawn from this transfer window for Stoke City is that the club has brought in quality. No more is it about how tall a defender is, how tough a player is nor how far can they get the ball from a throw in. This is now a Stoke team with the ability to outplay, rather than outfight, opponents. Questions remain over the balance of the team.

Has Hughes gone too far the other way now? Is it all show and no go? Stoke fans will be hoping that the balance is right, but at least they should be able to rest safe in the knowledge that they are guaranteed entertainement at the Britannia Stadium this season. This could be the season that Stoke become a force to be feared for all the right reasons.

Written by Tris Burke September 03 2015 07:59:57