6 days Ago By [email protected] (Peter Smith)
There are 27 potentially season-changing points to play for before Narcis Pelach gets a chance to tweak the Stoke City squad for the first time in the transfer market so perhaps that's cause not to focus entirely on possible comings and goings in January. But it would be interesting to be a fly on the wall in the recruitment department's office and see what's written on the white board as Pelach, sporting director Jon Walters and transfer chief Lee Darnbrough have been discussing and debating in the build up to this winter and next summer. Pelach has used 22 players so far in his 10 league games but he's been fairly consistent with his starting XI, with a pecking order being established in each specific role.
We can go through the squad department by department to see where Stoke need to add depth or quality and where they're well placed. Viktor Johansson has been a fixture in goal and become the undoubted star of the early Pelach era. It is interesting to note that Lee Nicholls was player of the year and in the Championship team of the year when Pelach and keeper coach Paul Clement's Huddersfield Town reached the play-off final in 2022 and that Angus Gunn found the best form of his career at Norwich under them last season.
If there is a consensus that Stoke need to, quite drastically, bring down the number of shots they are allowing the opposition to take perhaps the bulk of those shots give an opportunity for a keeper to showcase his agility. Never mind the accent, Pelach is at the Tony Pulis end of the spectrum when it comes to percentages even if where they go from there might be quite different. Coach Darren Behcet stayed on too from the Steven Schumacher set-up and, having played an important role in Johansson's arrival.
Pelach has been keen to share the credit for Johansson's star turns, saying last weekend: “I’m very pleased with the performance of Viktor (Johansson) and not just Viktor. It’s Viktor of course but it’s Jack Bonham, Frank Fielding and the young lads who come to support the training sessions. They all create this environment to help Viktor become the best version of himself.
" England under-20s international Tommy Simkin is picking up valuable experience on loan at Walsall in what will hopefully prove to be the return of the Stoke keeper conveyor belt. Barring a mega money bid from the Premier League for Johansson, no major movement is expected here imminently. Captain Ben Gibson has been a mainstay at centre-half alongside either Ashley Phillips or Michael Rose since Ben Wilmot has shuffled over to right-back.
Enda Stevens and Eric Bocat have shared left-back minutes while Junior Tchamadeu has had a chance to come back in and find form when Wilmot was out through illness. Jaden Dixon, aged 17, is waiting in the wings at centre-back and got a run out in the cup at Southampton. Lynden Gooch will be an option again at right-back and Bosun Lawal in the middle, although he is likely to be used further forward.
But there are three main questions here. What is the long-term succession plan with Phillips, who is only on loan from Tottenham? Is Wilmot going to be trusted as number one right-back and/or is Tchamadeu seen as a long-term answer? Can Stevens' body be managed to get him playing as much as possible - or can the team grow to not need his influence quite so much? Stoke have won 11 of the 23 league games that Stevens has started since joining as a free agent in summer 2023 compared to nine in 38 when he hasn’t. Those Stevens stats point to the impact that an excellent, smart, experienced and reliable defender can make in the Championship, calming down the people around him as much as playing their own part in clean sheets, building from the back and winning games.
Someone similar in any role, but preferably un-injurable, would instantly make the team stronger. Freddie Anderson and Christy Grogan are doing well at youth level and keep an eye on young left-back Josh Bickerton and even younger left-back Laurence Giani, who was on the first team bench at Southampton. Wouter Burger, Andrew Moran and Tatsuki Seko have gradually emerged as the go-to three in central midfield, influenced by the loss of Sam Gallagher to injury ahead of them.
Burger and Moran had found it difficult to keep control of that area as a two but both can make a difference going forward when the balance is right around them. Burger has needed to find his best position after being subtly moved around over the last 12 months but he is still only 23 and the platform is laid for him to show his potential. He got through 90 minutes against Derby and Blackburn, the first time he has done that back-to-back in the league this season, and will benefit if he can boost his robustness.
Moran has been a dynamic link between the central and final third and is still only 21. It will be worth keeping tabs with Brighton about their plans for him - but perhaps Stoke have a player who they push to be his successor in Sol Sidibe, who is good enough to take on any task asked of him in midfield. Sidibe is only 17 but it was encouraging that Pelach turned to him to take Moran's spot for the final 20-odd minutes against Millwall when the game was in the balance.
They weren't just free minutes for a CV, it was trust. Seko has been a real bonus in the last couple of weeks before this international break. He had featured infrequently until his first start, in a cup game at Southampton, but has immediately shown his technical and mental ability, eager to take the ball in tight areas and advance the team.
He's shot up from mystery man to potential key figure. Lawal will hopefully come into contention as he builds up fitness and, with Jordan Thompson stepping up when needed, there is a new optimism in this department, even with no time frame on Ben Pearson's return. There have been first team debuts too this season for Will Smith and Darius Lipsiuc in the cup.
Everything is still on review. Can Seko maintain his influence over a blood and thunder winter in the Championship? Will Stoke be tempted by loan suitors for Sidibe? Can Lawal get fit, stay fit and make an impact playing at this level for the first time? Over to them for the answers. Stoke won a serious race to sign Tom Cannon on summer deadline day and he's since been playing regularly, scoring goals and is back in the Republic of Ireland squad.
Pelach admits he has treated him pretty fiercely at times with a view to coaxing out the best of him - and Cannon has seemed well up for it. His running stats have been supercharged. Pelach said: “He does stuff now that he didn’t do one month and a half ago.
I was really hard with him, very tough, but he took it. I was even surprised a little with how well he handled one meeting, another meeting, another meeting, pushing, pushing, pushing. I replaced him at half-time two times, which is not nice, because it makes public that you’re not happy with a performance when you do that as a coach.
But I understand that as a coach I have to do it because it’s my job to make sure I look after the team, not just one player. “But we’ve had conversations and everything has been really good, healthy, and he’s growing. He competes much better in the air, he flicks balls that he wasn’t doing before, he doesn’t get beat, he starts the press on the opposition very well.
He understands when to stay and when to go, he can make good tactical decisions with and without the ball. His linking is improving and he’s scoring goals. “I’m really pleased with him but I still feel like he can do better and do more.
It’s not 95 minutes of the best version of Tom Cannon, it’s 65. Now I want him to extend that. I’ve already spoken to him about that, ‘You need to extend it, extend it,’ and we’ll see over the next month if he can do the next step.
At least we have done the first one. Now it's about keeping that and doing the next one.” Leicester could have sold him for £12m in August but Cannon was set on Stoke on loan.
It would be a surprise if anyone could afford to offer more than that in January to see if Leicester could be tempted. Financial Fair Play rules mean it wouldn't be possible for about 20 teams in the division, including Stoke. FFP rules will change though and the sooner they change, Stoke would be in a better position to make their case again.
Gallagher showed how he could affect the team in two starts before he suffered a hamstring injury. The recruitment team will almost certainly be searching for a Gallagher alternative with similar attributes. Emre Tezgel needs to play at 19 and will have loan offers.
Niall Ennis isn't getting many minutes either. Nathan Lowe is catching everyone's attention as he burst into double figures for goals on loan at Walsall. Bae Junho, aged 21, and Million Manhoef, 22, are prized in the wide roles with big improvements hoped for and expected.
There are younger wingers who will be hoping to catch the boss's eye in the 21s, such as Chinonso Chibueze and Japhet Matondo..
