Stoke City want to forget £2.5m splurge on Brek Shea - Barnsley & Birmingham City will rue their deals too | OneFootball

Stoke City signed Brek Shea from FC Dallas in January 2013, although the move didn't transpire as anyone had hoped.

Stoke City's move for 22-year-old American international Brek Shea from MLS side FC Dallas in January 2013 didn't go to plan.

Stoke signed left-winger Shea on deadline day in January 2013 for a reported fee of around £2.5 million.

The Potters were in their fifth-consecutive year in the Premier League under manager Tony Pulis, and had already brought in two other Americans during the summer in Maurice Edu from Rangers and Geoff Cameron from Houston Dynamo.

Charlie Adam, Steven Nzonzi and Michael Kightly were all also brought in for significant fees at the time, with the latter having little impact, but it was the January arrival of Shea which is arguably the most forgettable.

Having been capped 15 times already by the USA national side at just 22, the excitement from Potters fans around Shea's arrival was palpable, who believed they may have the heir to Matthew Etherington's throne on the left-wing.

However, that couldn't have been further from the truth, as what transpired was not only underwhelming, but also extremely forgettable.

Brek Shea would head out on two forgettable loan spells before leaving Stoke City permanently

Upon signing for the Potters in January, Shea made his debut off of the bench three weeks after signing in a 1-0 away loss to Fulham, replacing the injured Etherington early on in the match, making little to no impact.

With Etherington's injury, Shea still couldn't break into the starting side for their next match at home to West Ham, with the aforementioned Kightly preferred on the left.

He would replace Kightly late on in the game, again making little impact as Stoke would again lose 1-0.

Shea appeared just once more for Stoke, which would come in the following season, again as a substitute, in a 4-0 away loss to Everton, meaning he lost all three games he played for the club.

Eight uneventful appearances on-loan at Barnsley, followed by six more uneventful appearances on-loan with Birmingham City in 2014, as Shea would eventually leave the Potters permanently for Orlando City in the MLS after less than two years at the club.

Brek Shea never re-found his form from FC Dallas which saw Stoke City sign him

Upon his return to the States, Shea enjoyed two years in Orlando, where he would make 46 appearances in the MLS across two years, scoring three goals and assisting four before a move to Canada with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Spells with Atlanta United and Inter Miami followed, where Shea would eventually retire from professional football in 2023 at 33-years-old.

He would never recapture the form he displayed in Dallas which led Stoke to sign him, and although he would finish his career with 35 goals and 26 assists in 263 appearances in the MLS, you can't help but feel the American had more to show.