What Jon Walters has said about Stoke City sending Emre Tezgel out on loan | OneFootball

The highly-rated striker has just penned a new contract with the Potters.

Stoke City's sporting director, Jonathan Walters, has hinted that a loan move could be on the cards for Emre Tezgel after sealing his new Potters contract.

The 19-year-old striker put pen to paper on a new two-year contract at the bet365 Stadium on Tuesday.

Tezgel's Stoke City future was previously in a serious amount of doubt, as he was set to become a free agent following the expiration of his previous contract with the Potters this summer.

Leeds United were reported as being one of a number of clubs who had presented the highly-rated teenager with lucrative offers, but the England youth international has now put talk of an exit to bed - a permanent one, that is...

"If the right opportunity arises..." Jon Walters drops major hint on Emre Tezgel, Stoke City plan

Speaking via the club website on Tuesday following the announcement of Tezgel's new contract, Stoke City's sporting director, Jonathan Walters, strongly suggested that the club are considering loaning the young centre-forward out this summer.

"Gareth (Owen, academy technical director) and I have spent a lot of time with Emre and his representatives this summer to map out the next stage of his career as he seeks to play regular first team football.

"We are aligned in our position that Emre is at the stage of his development where he needs to build on his first loan at MK Dons and his appearances here with increased exposure to first team football in the upcoming campaign.

"If the right opportunity in the right environment arises for Emre, then that may well be out on loan, as we saw with much success for both Nathan Lowe and Tommy Simkin last season."

Emre Tezgel could relish opportunity to seek Stoke City loan exit this summer

After becoming Stoke City's youngest ever player upon making his first-team debut in January 2022, Tezgel hasn't yet been able to cement himself a role in the Potters' starting XI.

Despite that, he did manage to make the most appearances he's ever made for Stoke in a single season in 2024/25, with 17 first-team appearances to his name in all competitions.

However, he has proven himself as being ready to play regular EFL football during his short-term loan stint with MK Dons, in which he scored three goals and provided a further three assists in 17 League Two appearances during the second half of the 2023/24 season.

As such, with a new two-year contract in his back pocket, 2025/26 could be the ideal year for Stoke to hand him some more invaluable minutes with a temporary move away from the Potteries.

There would surely be plenty of clubs across League's One and Two that would be desperate to secure his services for a campaign, and should it prove to be a fruitful move, Tezgel could return to Stoke as a much more refined and battle-hardened centre-forward who is ready to push for a starting role at the bet365 Stadium.