Faith in four, Bae Junho quandary, hell of a prospect - the first 33 days of Stoke City’s season

Player of the season Bae Junho has been used on the left and in the middle so far this time around for Stoke City.
-Credit: (Image: Harvey Todd)


Stoke City are six games into a new season and new chapter, hopefully now settling down after a busy end to the summer transfer window.

There have been two league wins, two defeats and two uplifting cup victories that have showcased some of the prospects knocking loudly on the first team door. There have been 10 signings, plenty of exits and significant changes behind the scenes since the end of last season to get to this point.

Now they are preparing to come out of an international break and back into the thick of the action; a Championship trip to Oxford United to kickstart another three-game week. So what have we noticed since that Day One victory over Coventry back on August 10?

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A newly-stable defensive unit

There have been plenty of tweaks in a couple of areas of the team over the last month but the back unit has stayed pretty consistent.

Viktor Johansson, a senior goalkeeper Stoke can finally call their own, has started all four league matches behind right-back Junior Tchamadeu, left-back Eric Bocat and centre-half Ben Wilmot. Ben Gibson has started three and come off the bench in the other to replace Ash Phillips, who joined late in the window on loan from Spurs.

Johansson, aged 25; Tchamadeu, aged 20; Bocat, aged 25; Wilmot, aged 24; and Phillips, aged 19, makes for a pretty young and athletic department, while Gibson, aged 31 and a useful left-footed balance, has taken over as club captain. Enda Stevens, aged 34, has plenty of experience too and Lynden Gooch, aged 28, is the back-up on the right.

Stoke’s defence has been tossed and turned all too often over the last six years but faith is being put in this group to stand up to the blood and thunder of a Championship season. In theory, the team should benefit from having players you can turn to week in, week out, a platform where everyone knows where they stand.

A midfield taking shape

Stoke’s sprint finish to last season had a trio of Luke Cundle, Jordan Thompson and Josh Laurent in midfield but Cundle has gone back to his parent club and Laurent was unsettled in the final year of his contract and has moved on.

It has turned out to be one of the big projects of the summer to redesign this department and it still feels like a work in progress, although at least the personnel are clear now that deadline day has come and gone.

Wouter Burger, who actually ended last term as a spectator, has been the fixture so far this time, albeit in changing roles. It will be interesting to see how everything evolves over the next few weeks and months and which two or three provide the best formula from Burger, Andrew Moran, Sol Sidibe, Tatsuki Seko, Thompson and Bosun Lawal, as well as Bae Junho or Ben Pearson, who is coming back from surgery.

Answers on a postcard please – or in the comments section, ideally – as to what Stoke’s first choice midfield will look like by Christmas.

A quick mention here that Sidibe looks a hell of a prospect at 17. He’s been away on England under-18s duty this week and if you’re looking for a ceiling for his potential you’re going to have to look a long way up.

Getting the best out of Bae Junho and Lewis Koumas

Bae Junho had his pre-season and start of the season disrupted by injury and, although he perhaps wasn’t quite 100 per cent in the last couple of league games, big things are expected this term. If that audacious lobbed shot had gone in at Plymouth he’d have been dominating the headlines here and in South Korea over the last couple of weeks.

The conversation now is just where exactly he can have the biggest impact. He has been at his best up to this point coming in from the left but he’s got potential in the middle as a number 10.

Lewis Koumas, too, has made an impact on the left, right and down the middle. He’s only 18 but expect to see a lot of him this season on loan from Liverpool.

Million Manhoef has got the right wing sewn up but finding the right chemistry between Koumas, Junho, Tom Cannon and Sam Gallagher, while making sure Emre Tezgel also gets a stage to show what he can do, is an exciting challenge for Schumacher and his coaching staff.

A change in profile as prospects bubble close to the surface

Mentions so far here for Sidibe and 18-year-old Tezgel while Tchamadeu is being trusted as a regular at 20. Jaden Dixon, aged 17, is getting on the pitch in defence, Freddie Anderson, also 17, scored on his debut and Nathan Lowe, aged 18, and Tommy Simkin, aged 19, are getting rave reviews out on loan.

It is no wonder that Schumacher and Jon Walters have kept talking about the importance of maintaining a pathway to the first team. Middlesbrough, like Stoke, made a load of changes in that Carabao Cup tie but the difference was that Stoke’s youngsters are properly around Schumacher’s plans.

A new chapter at the bet365 Stadium too

There was a terrific atmosphere when Stoke beat Coventry, with away supporters shifted into the corner, standing introduced across upper half of the south stand and Stoke fans finally flanking the tunnel as players go in and out. The new fan zone deserves a couple of match days when the weather’s nice too.

The defeat to West Brom was a kick in the unmentionables and this Class of 2024, whether it’s fair or not, will have to prove and prove again that they can win regularly at home. Three of the four games after Oxford are at the bet365 and it would be a good time to put down a marker.

A different calendar

The last three home matches have all kicked off at 3pm on a Saturday. Don’t get used to it. It’s 12.30pm at Oxford and Friday night at 8pm against Hull next up in the league. There are further lunchtime kick-offs on the horizon against Derby, Millwall, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday as we really get to experience the full wind from the new Sky deal.

A big part of how well it all goes down will probably depend on results but we’ll be interested in hearing the pros and cons that you encounter along the way, whether it’s easier to get to a match, sink into your sofa or it ruins your weekend.

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