Steven Schumacher explains Stoke City transfer plans and issues pre-season warning
News from the bet365 Stadium as Stoke City prepare to draw Championship season to a close this weekend against Bristol City
The focus will be on quality rather than quantity as Stoke City head into another important summer transfer window.
There were an unprecedented number of comings and goings in 2023 and a time of revolution at Stoke under Alex Neil and Ricky Martin. Players were being unveiled at a rate of one every three days in the two months heading towards the deadline.
It will be more like evolution this time under Steven Schumacher and Jon Walters and Schumacher is confident the club can make a significant difference without overhauling the entire squad – especially, he is sure, once he has been able to work with the squad in a pre-season he again claimed would probably be “more difficult” than players have ever previously experienced.
He said: “I think you can make a difference if you get it right, if you get the recruitment right, get the personalities right who come in then we’ll have a chance to improve our results.
“The form since we’ve got here hasn’t been too bad, the points that we’ve acquired have been ok – not winning the league type of form but the type of form that can give you a chance to compete.
“It’s important we get off to a good start next year. We’ve just spoken to the players about what the off-season is going to look like, the pre-season programme and how that will probably more difficult than probably they have ever seen. If we can complement the squad with players who can help us improve then we’ll have a better chance to start the season well.”
Stoke hope to bring down the size of a squad which has been nudging 30 this season and there are nine senior players out of contract as well as five loanees returning to their parent club, although decisions or talks will be held next week about whether any of those will or might be part of things again next term.
Eight of the 11 players who have clocked up the most minutes this season remain under contract and one of the other three, Jordan Thompson, has the option of a 12-month extension on his current deal.
Schumacher said: “I think we’ve had five good loans, they’ve all contributed and all done excellently. It’s important that I sit down with them after the game at the weekend and thank them for their efforts. It’s not easy coming into a club on loan and giving 100 per cent but I think all the loan players have given everything they’ve got. I’m really pleased for them.
