Stoke City’s January Transfer Targets Revealed as Potters Eye shock Move for Former Premier League Winner

Stoke City’s January Transfer Targets Revealed as Potters Eye shock Move for Former Premier League Winner

With four players on loan from the club and six senior Stoke City players approaching contract negotiations in the

summer, Narcis Pelach and the hiring department will have plenty of flexibility.

Enda Stevens, Jordan Thompson, and Michael Rose—three players who have made significant appearances under

new head coach Pelach—as well as Lynden Gooch, who is recuperating from a knee injury, and backup keepers

Frank Fielding and Jack Bonham—are all in the final year of their contracts.

The 34-year-old left-back Stevens, who joined on a free transfer from Sheffield United in the summer of 2023, has

been an underappreciated presence when healthy. He signed a 12-month deal at the end of the previous campaign

. The  problem has been his availability but he has recovered from a calf issue picked up in pre-season and is being

used cautiously.

It was probably no coincidence that Bae Junho had his best performance of the season when playing in front of

Stevens against Portsmouth and he can be expected to pick up plenty of minutes if he can stay injury free.

Central midfielder Thompson, aged 27, is Stoke’s longest serving first teamer these days after joining the club from

Blackpool in early 2020. He was used at left-back on occasion last season and has been given the job in holding

midfield over the last few weeks. He has been understudy to Wouter Burger in the last two games before joining up

with Northern Ireland for the international break.

Centre-back Rose, aged 28, has come back into the starting XI after recovering from an ankle injury picked up in a friendly at Crewe in the summer. He has been a regular since joining as a free agent after leaving Coventry in the summer of 2023 and looks like he has enjoyed a burgeoning partnership with Ben Gibson.

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