Michael O’Neill’s Stoke City squad has been torn to pieces in recent weeks by a string of injuries to key player including Harry Souttar (ACL), Josef Bursik (Quad) and perhaps most importantly, Nick Powell (Broken Leg).
However, the area of the squad that has suffered most with injury is unquestionably midfield, with Northern Ireland international Jordan Thompson (Knee) and Sam Clucas (Quad) being sidelined through unspecified injuries.
Allen will likely return to the starting XI at the first time of asking against QPR following a red card at Bristol City. Despite this the issue of balance in midfield continues to hang over The Potters.
Recently, the three in midfield has been Allen, Vrancic, Sawyers and a lot has been made of the balance to this three, with many fans believing Sawyers and Vrancic can not play in the same side as it leaves whoever is playing holding midfield exposed.
This issue was shoved into the spotlight at the weekend as a toothless Stoke were outplayed by Blackburn Rovers, who didn’t have to work very hard to pick up three points away from home.
Fans have all pointed the finger towards a lackluster performance from the midfield as they allowed Joe Rothwell to wander past them with relative ease and failed to ever show any sign of creativity or steel in the middle of the park.
With that said, could Stoke turn to the returning Tashan Oakley-Boothe? Having missed out on the start of the season due to a back injury, he will have a point to prove.
Oakley-Boothe may not provide the steel that Stoke are currently lacking in midfield however what he doesn’t have in steel, he would make up for in his ability to go past opposition players, a trait that almost no other midfielder at Stoke seems to have outside of Powell, who is of course sidelined for now.
The 21-year-old midfielder has had a rough time of it since joining Stoke, having suffered through injuries and before that COVID-19 hitting days after a promising debut in a 5-1 win over Hull City.
It’s no secret that O’Neill needs to address midfield amongst several other positions in January due to injuries and general improvement of the squad too, but for now it seems that Oakley-Boothe or a call-up for a stand-out under-23s player such as the energetic Tom Sparrow are his only options in terms of freshening up the midfield from now to January.
The Potters are yet to be linked to a midfielder this season, having released two notable names over the summer, John Obi-Mikel and Jordan Cousins.
So let us know what you think Stokies! Could Tashan Oakley Boothe finally seize his opportunity?
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