Midfield questions to answer for Stoke City in summer transfer market as Lincoln City released the Ace
Stoke City legend Mike Pejic looks at what should be at the top of Steven Schumacher and Jon Walters’ list of transfer priorities following the arrivals of Viktor Johansson and Ben Gibson
There’s a checklist for the backbone that Stoke City are working through this summer. Goalkeeper, check. Experienced centre-half, check. So that leaves a big box still to tick at centre-forward and a question about what is going on in midfield.
They are going to need hardened characters in those key positions down the middle of the team. We’ve got Viktor Johansson, who has a great belief in his ability, and in has come Ben Gibson as we look for a defender with that in-built discipline and never-say-die attitude. You want that kind of personality and spirit that rubs off on others. It’s a good starting point, what looks like two decent signings and a solid base to build on.
I have written a lot about what kind of striker I hope is on the list for Steven Schumacher and Jon Walters, a Jamie Vardy-type who will continue to try to get behind and make clever runs.
And I think there is still a question to be answered about midfield. In truth, we can only guess here. We might know what Stoke need up front but we have to try to read Schumacher’s mind about what he’s thinking in the middle and what his intentions are after Luke Cundle ended his loan and went back to Wolves.
Does he want Cundle back, for starters? Is he ready to really bring Sol Sidibe through? Josh Laurent wasn’t in the side and then he was but looked lost when he was played in a more advanced role. It suited him when he sat a bit deeper and come onto things in what seemed like a bit of a trial and error period for the manager as he assessed his squad. It looks like Daniel Johnson and Lewis Baker fell further down the pecking order as time went on.
Wouter Burger is enthusiastic and tries to do everything. To get the best out of him I think he needs to play alongside a sitting midfield player so he can focus on doing a job between both boxes. When the game demands different things he can either sit or he can push forward but if he doesn’t have that sitting midfielder next to him he tries to do too much and we won’t see the best of him.
So who does he fancy for that sitting role? Does he like Ben Pearson? You can’t have him booked or sent off every week. You need a solid player in there who is consistent in terms of performance and discipline.
Jordan Thompson did a good job whatever he was asked to do under Schumacher and he’s a good one to have around, even if he might not be number one left-back or number one in holding midfield. Is he going to be used as a player who can fill in wherever he’s needed and does the lad want that? Eric Skeels wanted to be on the pitch as a number one in a certain position but Tony Waddington used him everywhere and he kept doing a good job. Over the course of a season a player like that is invaluable. You turn to them a lot over a long winter.
