Stoke City have made some superb signings in the past but some fees have been sky high with no return..
HIGHLIGHTS
- Former record signings like Shaqiri and Allen have moved on, leaving Stoke City struggling to replicate their past success in the Premier League.
- Costly signings like Wimmer, Ndiaye, and Imbula failed to live up to expectations, with poor performances and early exits from the club.
- Stoke City’s top six record signings have struggled to make a lasting impact, highlighting the challenges of sustaining success after relegation.
Stoke City are currently languishing near the bottom of the Championship after suffering one of their worst seasons in the 21st century – and fans will long be hoping they can get back to the good old days of Premier League football.
Famed for the Britannia Stadium being a tough place to visit under Tony Pulis with the likes of Rory Delap, Ryan Shawcross, and Ricardo Fuller causing mayhem in the Potteries, they tried a change of style having become an established top-flight outfit by signing stars from the continent.
Whilst that initially worked to some extent, there were various expensive flops that didn’t work out – and with that in mind, Football League World takes a look at where their top six record signings are currently plying their trade.
Stoke City – record signings | Club signed from | Fee (£m) |
---|---|---|
Giannelli Imbula | Porto | 18.3 |
Kevin Wimmer | Tottenham | 18 |
Badou Ndiaye | Galatasaray | 14.5 |
Joe Allen | Liverpool | 13 |
Benik Afobe | Wolves | 12.5 |
Xherdan Shaqiri | Inter Milan | 12
|
Xherdan Shaqiri – £12million
Now this was a signing with genuine quality, and upon reflection of Stoke’s time in the Premier League, Xherdan Shaqiri will likely always remain their highest-profile signing having joined from Inter Milan for £12 million back in 2015. The deal was seen as a huge coup at the time, and he didn’t disappoint with some dazzling displays.
Despite a somewhat slow start to his career at Stoke, Shaqiri registered 15 goals in 84 Premier League games for Stoke before they were relegated and Liverpool swooped in to nab him, where he became a superb rotation option under Jurgen Klopp. You’d begin to think that it will be a long time before Stoke will possess a player of Shaqiri’s quality again unless they make a return to the top flight in the coming years.
Shaqiri currently plies his trade at MLS outfit Chicago Fire.
5Benik Afobe – £12.5million
Benik Afobe joined Stoke in strange circumstances for £12.5million back in 2019. Having excelled for Wolves on a half-season loan back in 2017-18 where he scored six goals amid their eventual promotion under Nuno Espírito Santo, he joined the Molineux outfit the following summer; but without as much as playing a single game for Wolves in a permanent capacity, he was sold to Stoke who had seen them on the way down to the Championship.
A six-month loan with an obligation to purchase for £12million was the reported figure, and his career in Staffordshire was extremely short-lived. An eight-goal haul in his first season in red and white hardly ignited fear in defences, and he embarked upon three separate loan spells at Bristol City, Trabzonspor, and Millwall before joining the Lions permanently last summer.
Afobe now turns out for Al Dhafra FC in the United Arab Emirates.
4Joe Allen – £13million
Dubbed the Welsh Pirlo by many, Joe Allen arrived at Stoke for £13million whilst they were a Premier League side and generally speaking, was a decent acquisition by the Potters. His experience, quality and nous in midfield saw him spend two full seasons at Stoke in the top-flight before their relegation, but he didn’t stop there with a further four campaigns in red and white stripes.
212 league appearances for Stoke has seen him become one of their most recognised players over the past decade, though he returned to Swansea following the expiration of his contract with Stoke nowhere near the play-offs and therefore any immediate return to the Premier League.
He remains at the Swansea.com Stadium, and having turned 34 on Thursday, it’s
entirely plausible he will see out his playing days at the club where it all began.
Badou Ndiaye – £14.5million
Another failed signing by Stoke, Badou Ndiaye came to the Premier League with a lot of promise. Arriving from Galatasaray for £14.5million, the Senegal international was brought in to add a dynamic approach to the midfield under Paul Lambert – though their days were numbered with a spate of poor results immediately upon his arrival.
No wins from five against lower-half opposition such as Watford, Brighton, Bournemouth and Southampton, alongside an away trip to Leicester, saw Stoke seriously stranded at the bottom of the division. Ndiaye only scored once in his Premier League tenure, and 14 other appearances at Championship level also bore no goals in what was a failed move from start to finish.
Ndiaye now plays for Pendikspor in the Turkish Super Lig, though they face relegation this term.
2Kevin Wimmer – £18million
Kevin Wimmer had showed promise at Tottenham Hotspur early in his career, but the Austrian wasn’t favoured by those in North London in an era when Mauricio Pochettino oversaw the best of Tottenham’s Premier League era. He swiftly joined Stoke for £18 million at the start of their relegation season, but again, this was a move that went horribly wrong.
Criticised by supporters for poor performances and failing to be selected at all by Lambert with a fitness regime being forced upon him, he only made 19 appearances for Stoke before joining Rapid Vienna back in 2021 – meaning that he cost just shy of £1million per performance for the Potters.