Mark Robins has the opportunity to make a couple of important tweaks to his squad in this January transfer window
There must be a whiteboard in Mark Robins’ office at Clayton Wood where he will consider his options with the Stoke City squad he took over last week.
Ten players have started all three games to earn an essential five points, and Robins will assess who can break into that side from the current group of fit and available players, as well as who will be considered when they are fit again.
On current form, it seems like there are four easy picks down the spine of the team in Viktor Johansson, Ashley Phillips, Ben Wilmot and Tom Cannon.
Central midfield has been in upheaval since the summer, as evidenced by the degree to which minutes have been divided among players. Tatsuki Seko, Wouter Burger, and Andrew Moran provided a nice balance against Sunderland and Burnley. Bosun Lawal and Ben Pearson are likely to emerge as contenders as the season progresses, despite the fact that neither has played much or at all since last spring. It would be wonderful to be able to use Moran as a 10 rather than a deeper.
Junior Tchamadeu, in his debut season as a regular in the Championship, has developed significantly at right-back in recent weeks and has benefited from an order to be more front-footed. There aren’t many other possibilities in that position if you want a round peg in a round hole, especially with Lynden Gooch filling in at left-back. Gooch excelled at Burnley, but losing Eric Bocat for a few weeks is a setback, and injuries have limited Enda Stevens to only six starts in 26 league games.
Ben Gibson is waiting for his chance to return to the club as a centre-back following an illness, but Phillips and Wilmot have worked well together in three consecutive clean sheets. Michael Rose, who played for Robins at Coventry, must be patient, while Jaden Dixon and Freddie Anderson are players to watch in the under-21s, and Lawal can play defense.
There isn’t a long queue to play on the wings, where Bae Junho has been inconsistent this season and Lewis Koumas, who is now playing on the right, is in his first season of regular senior football. Andre Vidigal is again in trouble, and Million Manhoef is being treated. Sam Gallagher can also play on the left, although he isn’t as flashy.
Gallagher can also be deployed with or in place of Cannon down the middle, but Emre Tezgel has limited playing time, while Niall Ennis has not played in two months. Gallagher has played more than either of them this season, despite suffering two significant back-to-back injuries.
The senior players’ game time in the league this season, excluding injuries, helps to determine their position in the pecking order.
It is evident that Jordan Thompson, Vidigal, Tezgel, and Ennis will require a significant turn in the wind to regain favour. Tezgel is still only 19 years old, and he must be seeing Nathan Lowe’s stock rise as a result of an exceptional loan.
Stoke’s centre-forward and wide offensive positions stand out as areas that require more depth, while Robins might benefit from determining a way ahead in midfield as quickly as possible and whether he has enough in the building to cover there for the next four months.
Stoke City’s senior team (league minutes this season)
Goalkeeper: Johansson (2340 out of 2340 minutes), Bonham (0), and Fielding (0)
Right-backs: Tchamadeu (1610), Gooch (648).
Left-backs: Bocat (1490), Stevens (537).
Centre-half: Wilmot (1914), Gibson (1746), Phillips (1282), Rose (734), Dixon (2).
Central midfielders: Burger (1532), Seko (1104), Thompson (632), Sidibe (304), Lawal (23) and Pearson (0).
Number ten: Moran (1596).
Left wing: Junho (1906), Vidigal (1995).
Right wing: Koumas (1650) and Manhoef (1637).
Cannon (1863) is a centre forward. Gallagher (332), Tezgel (272) and Ennis (94)
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