Stoke City need to make some smart transfer decisions in the coming months to help them push up the table next season under Steven Schumacher.
The Potters have already signed standout goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, experienced centre-back Ben Gibson and exciting wing-back Eric Junior Bocat from Rotherham United, Norwich City and Sint-Truiden respectively, and are set to be busy in the transfer market in the coming months as Steven Schumacher shapes his squad ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Tyrese Campbell, Ciaran Clark, Wesley, Tom Edwards and D’Margio Wright-Phillips have all departed the club upon the expiry of their contracts, while young centre-backs Matthew Baker and David Okagbue have both turned down new deals to join Newport County and Walsall respectively.
There have not yet been any departures from the bet365 Stadium for a transfer fee so far this summer, but Schumacher will be expecting more outgoings, as is the nature of the quick turnover of players in the EFL.
With that said, we have picked out two players that Stoke must keep hold of this summer if they want to improve on last season’s 17th-placed finish.
Bae Jun-ho
Bae Jun-ho arrived in the Potteries as a complete unknown in English football last August, after he left his boyhood club Daejon Hana Citizen to join Stoke on a four-year deal for a rumoured fee of around £2m.
He was largely limited to substitute appearances upon arrival under Alex Neil, but began to force his way into the starting eleven under Schumacher, and netted his first goal for the club against Cardiff on February 24, then followed that up with the opener a week later in a key victory at home to Middlesbrough as Stoke battled the drop.
He played a crucial role in the second half of the campaign, and especially in the season’s run-in, as Schumacher’s side lost just once in the last eight games of the season to avoid relegation.
He crowned his fantastic debut season by winning the club’s Player of the Year award, as voted by the fans, and ended the campaign with two goals and six assists in 40 games in all competitions, a respectable return that will undoubtedly be improved on in 2024/25 if he stays injury-free, and more importantly, at the club.
His good form even saw him win his first call-up to the South Korea senior team in June, and he scored his first goal for his country just nine minutes into his debut in a 7-0 win over Singapore.
It seems unlikely that he will depart the Potteries after just one season, as his contract runs until 2027, so Stoke do not need to sell unless a club is willing to pay over the odds.
However, there will still undoubtedly be interest in the Korean starlet this summer, so the club must make sure he is lining up in red and white at the bet365 Stadium in August if they want to kick on next season.
Wouter Burger
Wouter Burger is another of the influx of overseas signings that the Potters made last summer, as they forked out a reported £4.3m to prise him from Swiss giants FC Basel amid serious interest from several higher-profile sides.
Burger played European football in Basel, and has featured for all of the Netherlands’ youth sides from U15 to U21 while long being highly-rated in his native country, so his move to Stoke raised some eyebrows as a potentially huge coup for the club.
That has been proven correct, after a stellar debut season at the bet365 Stadium where he registered four goals and four assists in 41 games in all competitions and impressed with his mature, imposing presence in central midfield.
| Wouter Burger Stoke 2023/24 statistics | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 39 |
| Goals | 3 |
| Assists | 4 |
| Tackles per 90 | 3.5 |
| Blocks per 90 | 1.78 |
| Aerials won per 90 | 1.99 |
| Successful take-on % | 66.7% |
| Stats as per FBref, league games only | |
The 23-year-old is a must-keep for Schumacher this summer, after a recent TeamTalk report confirmed that Stoke face a battle to keep him due to interest from Tottenham Hotspur, relegated Sheffield United and two other unnamed sides from within the Premier League.
Once again, Stoke do not need to be pressured into selling Burger, with the three years still left to run on his existing deal, meaning he would surely command a fee that at least doubles what the Potters paid last year.
He is set to regain his place in the starting eleven in 2024/25, after Schumacher preferred Jordan Thompson from the off in last season’s run-in, and will undoubtedly play a starring role if Stoke do well next season.
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