Breaking: Stoke City announces the departure of nine important players. The ace will reportedly stop playing for Stoke due to…
The 9 Stoke City players likely to exit from June onwards
Stoke City are set to see a number of players leave in the summer as they look to rebuild for the 2024-25 season
With the end of the Championship season fast approaching, Stoke City may already be beginning to decide which players they wish to move on in the summer.
It’s been another dismal season for the Potters so far, and they could yet be relegated to League One.
The halcyon days of Premier League football at the Bet365 Stadium seem a long time ago, with the club yet to finish in the top half of the second tier since relegation in 2018.
| Stoke City’s Championship finishes since relegation | |
|---|---|
| Season | Position |
| 2018/19 | 16th |
| 2019/20 | 15th |
| 2020/21 | 14th |
| 2021/22 | 14th |
| 2022/23 | 16th |
Despite being backed by the wealthy Coates family, Stoke have struggled to recruit well in recent years, with many signings failing to make an impact.
With this in mind, Steven Schumacher – or whoever may be in charge at the club come the summer – face a big job in rebuilding the squad despite a huge turnover of the playing staff occuring in the summer just gone.
Here are the NINE players Stoke City are likely to move on or lose from June onwards.
Enda Stevens
Irish international Stevens joined Stoke on a one-year deal after the expiry of his contract at Sheffield United.
However, the left-back has struggled to make an impact at the club thanks to injury, despite starting the club’s first five league games of the season.
Stevens turns 34 in the summer, and it would be poor business by the club to extend his deal given his injury woes this season.
Tyrese Campbell
The 24-year-old striker has been one of the club’s better players over the last few seasons when he has been fit and firing, but has struggled this season due to injury.
Campbell – the son of ex-Premier League forward evin – is out of contract at the end of the season and Rangers have been linked with a summer move for him.
The club rejected a £850,000 bid for Campbell from Hellas Verona in January, according to Football Insider, which shows that top flight clubs are keen on the forward ahead of the summer.
With no new deal signed yet, the club may regret not cashing in on the player in January – it may be best for all parties though if they part ways so that Campbell can have a fresh start.
Wesley
One-time Brazilian international Wesley signed a one-year deal with the Potters after being released by Aston Villa.
The player is yet to find his scoring boots for Schumacher’s side and hasn’t been a regular starter for the club, with the new manager normally preferring other attacking options over the ex-Aston Villa man.
Given his performances, it would make sense for Stoke to part ways with Wesley in the summer when his contract expires.
Ryan Mmaee
Striker Mmaee joined the club from Ferencvaros in the summer, but it’s a move that hasn’t worked out at all.
The Morocco international has been recently made to train with the club’s under-21 side for disciplinary reasons, and despite clubs being interested, Mmaee was not moved on.
He’s contracted to Stoke until the summer of 2026, but the club may look to cash in on him in the summer with the move not living up to expectations and the clear behind the scenes issues.
Ciaran Clark
Veteran defender Clark joined the club as a free agent in October to bolster Alex Neil’s defensive options, but the ex-Republic of Ireland international has barely played.
He made three consecutive appearances between November and December but has been in and out of the matchday squad since then.
His deal expires at the end of the season and at 34, it wouldn’t be expected that Clark remains in Staffordshire beyond that.
D’Margio Wright-Phillips
The 22-year-old winger impressed after breaking onto the scene at Stoke in the 2021-22 season, but hasn’t kicked on since then.
He failed to make a first-team appearance for the club in the first half of the campaign, which followed on from last season’s dismal stint with Northampton Town in League Two, and the son of Shaun Wright-Phillips was loaned out to Belgian outfit Beerschot in the January transfer window.
Wright-Phillips’ deal at Stoke expires in 2024, although the club do have the option to extend that by a year.
Having failed to make an appearance for the club this season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Stoke let the ex-Man City talent move on for more opportunities.
Tom Edwards
Right-back Edwards is somewhat of a forgotten man at Stoke – he joined Championship rivals Huddersfield Town on loan in the summer, but has struggled to make an impact for the Terriers and it remains to be seen if Andre Breitenreiter will fancy him.
Incredibly, Edwards hasn’t made a Stoke appearance since the 2019-20 season, having also spent time with Fleetwood, Barnsley and New York Red Bulls, so he will surely depart the club when his deal comes to an end.
Liam McCarron
Promising left-back McCarron made his senior debut for the club in their recent FA Cup tie with Brighton, but at 22, he needs to be playing regular men’s football.
With a contract at the club until 2025, perhaps next season could be the perfect chance for McCarron to go out on loan and prove himself in League One or Two before a decision is made on his permanent future.
Blondy Nna Noukeu
Cameroonian goalkeeper Noukeu has never played a senior game for Stoke and sees his deal expire this summer.
The 22-year-old was on the bench for some league games this season when the club were short of goalkeepers, but his only senior experience came on loans with Crawley Town and Southend United.
He joined the club in 2019, but this summer is the right time for all parties to move on.
