Transfer news from the bet365 Stadium as Stoke City head into final 18 days of the summer window

Junior Tchamadeu, the talented young Colchester United full-back, is trying to turn a deaf ear to transfer links with Stoke City to focus on his current job.

The 19-year-old League Two young player of the year is on Alex Neil’s wanted list but Colchester are believed to be holding out for a seven-figure fee so he has stayed put for now. He came into the team for a 2-2 Carabao Cup draw at Cardiff, eventually losing on penalties, and then faced Mark Hughes’s Bradford on Saturday, being edged out 2-1.

There are still two-and-a-half weeks until deadline day and he told the Colchester Gazette: “There’s always going to be speculation going on.

“I’m in a position where I’ve just got to keep my head down and focus on my job, which is to help the team and everything else just takes care of itself.”

Stoke have had a busy summer so far, bringing in 11 players and counting, but Neil has been clear he would still like to strengthen certain departments. He wants competition and cover for Ki-Jana Hoever at right-back. Tchamadeu can also play on the left and has been used as a wing-back over the last few months.

Neil also wants to add a left-sided centre-back and further options in midfield and attack, highlighting his lack of wide players particularly after the sale of Jacob Brown to Luton Town.

Tchamadeu started out on the books of Charlton Athletic but joined Colchester in 2020 and soon became the club’s youngest starter, aged 16 years and 349 days.