Stoke City have had a tough last three years since relegation from the top flight – going through three managers, finishing 16th, 15th and 14th and much has been said regarding the club’s financial situation, however, because of FFP, spending has become restricted meaning hopes of returning to The Premier League are slowly fading.
With a number or players in the club on high end wages for the league, along with parachute payments now gone, it’s becoming the subject of conversation between many fans regarding certain players so is it time to let go?
Here we will look at certain players and ask you, the fans, the question – should we keep hold or free up the wages?
Joe Allen - Reported Wage: £57,500 per week
Joe Allen signed for Stoke back in the 2016/17 season from Liverpool for a reported fee of £13.95m. Now aged 31, he has one more year left on his contract. Since the drop from the top flight, it is fair to say that he hasn’t had the impact most would have expected, after performing so well in the Top flight before hand. With the likes of Josh Dasilva of Brentford and Alex Mowatt of Barnsley on a fraction of the wage, whilst shining for their current clubs – it raises the question whether it is time to part ways with the Welsh International.
Opinion: Joe Allen has been a great servant to the club and seems to be a real professional and great role model to the younger players coming through. When a lot abandoned ship after the drop, Joe stayed and although his performances haven’t been to the standard we all expected, he continues to give his all every game. However, with the situation we find ourself in, in terms of FFP, we can’t afford to have somebody on the books earning a Premier League wage, whilst getting average performances. I believe it’s time to thank Joe for his service and say farewell.
Peter Etebo - Reported Wage: £30,000 per week
Peter Etebo won the fans hearts when he first signed for Stoke – giving 110% every game whilst shining during two seasons that were overall disappointing. When O’Neil game into the club, it was to everybody’s disbelief that Etebo was sent out on loan, with rumours of the Nigerian international expressing his wish to never play for Stoke again. However, it has recently been reported that the 25 year old has stated that he wants to remain a Stoke City player and fight for his place in the squad. The talent is there, without question – but is it worth risking the now positive environment in the dressing room, which was hindered by players who did not want to be a Stoke City player over the past 4 to 5 seasons?
Opinion: I am a huge admirer of Etebo, his energy and footwork on the ball is nothing short of exciting. Off the field, the stories that have been circulating are quite worrying, but are backed up by the fact that he was sent out on loan by MON around the same time that The Gaffer announced that he would not be keeping hold of any players that did not want to be at the club. The recent stories of him stating that he wants to stay at Stoke and fight for his place are promising and I hope they’re true, as on his day he can solely run the show and could possibly be the missing piece of the puzzle that is this squad is crying out for. I’m 50/50 on this one - it all depends on what is actually going on behind the scene as there are a lot of contradicting stories.
Sam Clucas - Reported Wage: £35,000 per week
Most fans believe that Sam Clucas solely kept Stoke from dropping to the third tier of English football in the 2019/20 season - Scoring 11 league goals, most coming at the crucial part of the season too. It has been reported that Stoke are willing to allow the departure of Sam Clucas on a free this summer, with Blackburn being the reported party that is interested. Sam has been hindered by injuries this campaign, only managing 24 appearances and scoring 2 goals, meaning some fans believe he is not the same player as the previous season – but when fully fit and in form, can we risk allowing such a player to leave to a team which would be a potential promotion chasing rival?
Opinion: Sam, on his day, can be a real problem for the opposition to handle. I believe that this season was an off season due to the injury setbacks and he could easily get back to his best with a full season with no injuries. One thing I would say is, even when fully fit and at his best, he does still tend to not show up to some games, which I think for £35,000 a week, can’t be happening. Now aged 30, I think it could be best for both parties if he does part ways in order to gain the wages back and look at bringing in a younger hungrier player – however, we could massively regret it as there is a massive chance that he could be a key player for Blackburn, who are also looking to get back to the Top Flight.
Nathan Collins - Reported Wage: £5,000 per week
Nathan Collins is not a player that comes to mind when discussing high wages at the club – and rightly so. The 20 year old is one of the lowest paid first team players yet one of the most highly rated. Interest from top flight clubs such as Manchester United and Burnley has begun discussions amongst fans, to whether we should cash in on the highly rated prospect. Burnley made a reported bid of £7.5m, which Stoke politely declined – however it is reported that Burnley are sizing up an improved bid of £9m.
Although the fee seems ridiculously low for a player of his quality at such a young age, it has to be asked, are the club desperate enough that they aren’t in a position to reject the offer? If we aren’t desperate enough, what is the lowest we should accept, taking into the consideration the likelihood of the player he turns out to be, along with the price tag he will inevitably possess?
Opinion: Honestly, I think there is absolutely no way we can let Nathan go! The 20 year old is improving game by game and in my opinion, in today’s market, is worth at least £20m. I am gutted for him that he got injured towards the end of last season as he was implementing that right back position as his own and became a key man in the back four. After two seasons of leaking goals with such a shaky back four, I can’t understand why we would not keep hold of players like Nathan, who helped Stoke equal their record for the most clean sheets in a season in the campaign just gone. I do believe, however, that if an offer came in of £10m or over, Stoke would consider cashing in to ease their FFP worries – but that £10m would not be available to bring in a replacement, which could lead to another season of fighting relegation.
We would love to hear your opinion on the above players, as well as any other players that you believe we should definitely keep hold of or let go this season, in order to progress and free up funds for Michael O’Neil to spend in his huge squad re-vamp.
コメント