Although they had a difficult start to the season, Stoke City has improved recently and is now hoping to contend for promotion in the Championship.
Eighteen new players, notably dynamic wingers Andre Vidigal, Mehdi Leris, and Sead Haksabanovic, have helped manager Alex Neil rebuild the club.
The article highlights the contributions made by the seven finest wingers in Stoke City’s recent history, including Jonathan Walters, Liam Lawrence, and Victor Moses.
This season, Stoke City plans to push for promotion in the Championship.
After finishing 16th the previous season and getting off to a bad start this year, Alex Neil will be hopeful that his team can maintain its impressive form after a few weeks of much-needed improvement.
As part of Neil’s rebuilding, the team brought in 18 new players this summer, including many talented wingers like Andre Vidigal, Mehdi Leris, and Sead Haksabanovic.
Here is our ranking of the top seven Potters wingers of the twenty-first century as their current wide players attempt to lead their team to promotion.
Moses was on loan from Chelsea to Stoke for the 2014–15 season.
The 32-year-old helped the Potters finish ninth in the Premier League by scoring four goals and dishing out six assists in 23 games across all competitions. It appears he relished his stay at the bet365 Stadium, as he turned down the Blues’ request to bring him back to Stamford Bridge in January.
When a deal fell through, Moses continued to play a significant part in Chelsea’s championship-winning season under Antonio Conte in 2016–17. Then manager Mark Hughes was eager to sign Moses permanently, but it did not happen.
Moses is a player for Spartak Moscow in Russia right now.
Lawrence moved permanently to Stoke in January 2007 after first joining on loan from Sunderland in November 2006.
The 41-year-old established himself as a vital member of the Potters team, and he was crowned Player of the Year in 2007–08 after helping the team win promotion to the Premier League with 15 goals.
After suffering from injuries towards the conclusion of his stay at the bet365 Stadium, Lawrence left on loan for Portsmouth in August 2010 and moved permanently to Fratton Park in January 2011.
Before retiring in 2017, the former Republic of Ireland international played for Stoke for 125 games and scored 24 goals. He also had stints at Cardiff City, PAOK, Barnsley, Shrewsbury Town, Bristol Rovers, and Rushall Olympic.
August 2010 saw Walters go from Ipswich Town to the bet365 Stadium for £2.75 million, which would prove to be somewhat of a steal.
Under Mark Hughes, Stoke finished in ninth place in the Premier League three times in a row, and the 40-year-old was a major factor in the team’s 2011 FA Cup run.
Before moving to Burnley in July 2017, Walters scored 62 goals in 271 games for the Potters. Although he wasn’t the fastest winger, he still created a lot of issues for opposing defenders.
When Stoke finalised the acquisition of Bojan from Barcelona in July 2014, it was viewed as a major coup.
Bojan’s greatest season with the Potters was the 2015–16 campaign, when he scored seven goals in thirty-one games. However, the next year, he was not as successful and was loaned to Mainz 05 and Alaves.
The Spaniard rejoined Stoke following their 2018 Championship relegation, however he departed the team in August 2019 with mutual agreement after finding it difficult to get playing time under both Nathan Jones and Gary Rowett.
Bojan made 85 appearances for the Potters, scoring 16 goals. Although he may not have reached his full potential, he became a devoted fan favourite while he was there.
Following spells with Vissel Kobe and Montreal Impact, the 33-year-old declared his retirement in March.
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