Stoke City Close To Landing Premier League Midfield Ace: A Smashing Move By Rowett?

According to a recent report by BBC, Stoke City are close to an agreement with Huddersfield Town to lure Tom Ince to bet365 Stadium this summer. The report states that the Potters are set to roll out £10million to secure the services of Ince as Gary Rowett continues his activities in the summer transfer window.

In another report, it is claimed that talks have advanced pretty smoothly and the player will arrive for a medical soon, possibly as early as tomorrow.

Ince emerged through the youth ranks of Liverpool but couldn’t make an impact for their senior side. After a loan spell with Notts County, he was signed permanently by Blackpool. While he was on their books, he was loaned out to Crystal Palace before signing a permanent deal with Hull City. In the summer of 2015, the Rams brought him to Pride Park Stadium and he proved to be a productive player for them.

Interestingly, the former English Under21 midfielder was sold by Rowett last summer to Huddersfield Town while he was the manager of Derby County and the latter used the £11million they received from his exit to sign players such as Tom Lawrence, Andre Wisdom, Tom Huddlestone and Curtis Davies. Apparently, Rowett wants to work with him in his endeavours with Stoke City in the English second division.

In 33 appearances in the top flight for David Wagner’s camp last term, the 26-year-old scored 2 goals. He played a pivotal role in ensuring the safety of his employers but his attacking flair suffered to an extent owing to the defence oriented approach of Wagner. It is surprising to see Ince being made available but Stoke City will strike gold if they get hold of him.

He is a versatile player and can operate anywhere in the midfield. During the last campaign, he was deployed on the left, on the right and also plied his trade through the middle. Apart from being dynamic, he is a cool and composed player in the middle of the park and more often than not, he goes on to cater to his duties meticulously.

Stoke City were in shambles during the last season in the Premier League and quite rightly got themselves relegated to the Championship. Rowett needs to inject positivity into his arsenal to try to earn a promotion at the end of the season. In his pursuit, someone like Ince has the calibre to emerge as a galvanizing asset as he is well accustomed to the Championship.

Statistics Credits: WhoScored