Stoke City may be very thankful transfer drama did not lead to player exit | OneFootball

Wouter Burger impressed in the FA Cup a week after a whirlwind Deadline Day that nearly saw him leave the Potters

Wouter Burger's whirlwind first week of February was capped off with a stellar performance against Cardiff City in the FA Cup on Saturday, just days after he had been close to surprisingly leaving Stoke City to join FC Midtjylland on Deadline Day.

Stoke's transfer business over the last month was relatively low-key and uneventful, and their Deadline Day was turning out to be as quiet as many had predicted, until late news emerged of the situation surrounding central midfielder Burger's potential exit.

The 23-year-old, who has been a key man for Stoke despite dips in form over the last 12 months, had reportedly all but agreed a move to four-time Superliga champions FC Midtjylland with just hours of the window to go, but the Potters' hierarchy had then seemingly stopped the deal at the last moment.

Burger is now set to stay at Stoke until at least the end of the season, but while rumours have emerged of him possibly being unsettled by how the saga had panned out so late in the window, he certainly did not look troubled in one of his best performances in red and white for a good while against Cardiff over the weekend, despite the Potters succumbing to a penalty shootout defeat.

Wouter Burger nearly left Stoke City on Deadline Day

Burger has been an important figure in Stoke's midfield since his arrival from Basel for a reported fee of £4.3m in August 2023, so when Danish outlet Tipsbladet reported on Monday evening that the Potters and Midtjylland had agreed on a transfer, and he had passed his medical in England and agreed personal terms with the Superliga side, it came as a real shock so late in the window.

Despite the deal looking advanced and all but done, Stoke's hierarchy then apparently stopped negotiations because they were unable to find a replacement for him in Robins' side so late on. That notion was challenged by StokeonTrentLive's reports, which stated that the Potters had outright rejected any bid from the Danish side.

Boss Mark Robins has since spoken of his admiration for Burger and his importance to the team, while making it pretty clear that he did not want to lose his services ahead of a potentially tough few months to come.

"We were looking at trying to do something on the incoming front and it didn’t quite manage to materialise but I’m pleased we didn’t lose anyone either," he told StokeonTrentLive.

"There was a potential to lose Wouter so I’m pleased he’s still here as well. I think he’s a really important player, a really good player and somebody I think can improve further.

"For me, at that stage, it would have been really difficult to replace anybody in the squad and this is somebody that’s played since I’ve come in all the games I think. To lose anybody at that stage is difficult to replace, especially with the circumstances around injuries, injured players and their returns."

Burger put in a strong performance against Cardiff to prove his worth to the Potters

Stoke headed into their fourth round FA Cup clash against fellow Championship outfit Cardiff on Saturday without the pressure of a league game and with a depleted squad due to injuries and cup-ties.

With that said, it was no surprise to see Robins' men go 2-0 down early on due to some shoddy play from Ben Gibson and Jack Bonham, with goals from Rubin Colwill and Yousef Salech, with their hopes of progression seemingly all but over inside the first 20 minutes.

Stoke needed a player to step up and take the game to the Bluebirds to have any chance of getting a foothold in proceedings, and just before half-time, Burger produced a moment of rare magic from the game as a whole, with a great through ball to set up Lewis Koumas for his first of the afternoon to halve the deficit.

The Dutchman continued to impress into the second period, and was undoubtedly the Potters' best performer throughout the game, with 84% pass accuracy, two successful dribbles from two attempted, four accurate long balls from five played, 12 ground duels won out of 15, and three fouls won across the 120 minutes of hard graft that he completed.

Stoke's leveller just after the break saw Burger produce a neat dummy to help Josh Wilson-Esbrand's throw-in fall at the feet of Liverpool loanee Koumas, who netted for his brace. It was, once again, the kind of piece of skill that the Potters have severely lacked in recent years.

The hosts went on to go in front through Lewis Baker's well-taken penalty, before Colwill netted his brace to make it 3-3, and the teams couldn't be separated after half-an-hour of extra-time. Burger uncharacteristically took responsibility in the shootout, and made no mistake with his spot-kick into the bottom-right corner, but could not save his side from losing 4-2 on penalties.

Boss Robins was understandably disappointed with the result that saw Stoke knocked out of the FA Cup, but hailed Burger's performance as both "outstanding" and "brilliant" in his post-match press conference.

Based off Saturday's standout showing, it is pretty obvious as to why the Potters could not afford to lose a player of his importance and stature in the January window. The sheer fact that it was even floated as an idea will have worried supporters, but they can rest safe in the knowledge that the 23-year-old is theirs for at least the next three months with a tough relegation battle on the horizon.