Stoke City have successfully lured Ryan Woods to their ranks from Brentford. The Potters have initially signed Woods on loan until January, with an obligation to buy him for £7m. He should be available for selection for the clash against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Woods began his youth career with Walsall and Shrewsbury Town and was then promoted to the senior side of the latter. In the summer of 2015, he switched to Brentford and made 127 appearances for them. He was the supporters’ player of the season during the previous campaign.
Woods is a defensive midfielder by trade, although he is versatile enough to operate as a right-back, and has accumulated plenty of experience of English football under his belt. In 39 appearances in the Championship last term, the 24-year-old scored 1 goal and garnered 3 assists.
Apart from Gary Rowett’s side, their Championship rivals Swansea City were also believed to have been interested to sign Woods. However, the Swans fell short of Brentford’s valuation for the Englishman and therefore, his move to Liberty Stadium failed to materialize.
Speaking to the club’s website after the signing of Woods, Rowett said: “Ryan is a player that we’ve admired for a long time. He’s the type of player the squad has been crying out for, a defensive midfielder that can get us playing with a range of passing and the ability to bring other players into the game.”
