After beating Arsenal in the Premier League last weekend, Stoke City managed to get a victory in the EFL Cup over Rochdale this midweek and will hope to continue their good work in the upcoming games in the domestic league. Mark Hughes, however, has been a busy man, still trying to add some quality to the first team.
This has seen the club weighing moves for a number of exciting stars recently and one player they have now made a move for is Bjorn Engels.
Stoke make an official bid
The Potters have already made a couple of decent additions to the squad this summer but according to the Daily Mail, they have now made a £8.5m bid for the services of Club Brugge ace Engels.
Also wanted by Arsenal and Everton, Engels has made a superb start to the domestic campaign in Belgium and is currently settled at his club but what will he add to Stoke if he makes the switch?
Who is Bjorn Engels?
Born and brought up in Kaprijke, Belgium, the 22-year old is a product of the academy in Brugge, where he moved into the senior side in 2012 as a teenager. He took time to establish himself in the first team but has been the first choice centre-back for his side since the start of the previous season.
He has also represented Belgium in the U17, U18, U19 and U21 levels and is waiting for his first senior cap. Standing at 6ft 4in, Engels is a dominating centre-half, who wins almost everything thrown at him in the box. Known for his physical approach to the game, the 22-year old loves to stay a step ahead of his opponents and makes tackles early, which allows his side to win the ball back in dangerous situations.
His man marking abilities are right up there with the best and beyond doubt, he is a player who is already turning some heads. At his age, he will only get better and belongs at the highest level, and a move to Stoke could be a decent start to his top flight career in Europe.
Chances at Stoke
However, the Potters have already brought in Kurt Zouma from Chelsea on loan and spent on Bruno Martins Indi, both of who are expected to be the first choice for Hughes. Philipp Wollscheid and Ryan Shawcross will be options from the bench and Engels is not climbing the pecking order anytime soon.
But Shawcross is now 29 and in his final year of the contract and the manager might be looking at Engels as a long-term replacement for the English defender. In such a case, this is the right time for Stoke to make a move, as it will give the Belgian ace a chance to adjust to the conditions in the country before turning into a first team star in the years to come.
