3 players that could save Stoke City millions of pounds | OneFootball

Stoke City have a lot of faith in their academy system nowadays, after placing a much bigger focus on youth development in recent years.

In their ten-year stint in the top-flight under Tony Pulis and Mark Hughes, the club saw very few academy players even make an appearance at the top level, let alone become a permanent fixture in the squad - the likes of Ryan Shotton, Andy Wilkinson and Carl Dickinson were some of the success stories of their time.

There has been a bigger onus on bringing players through the academy system and into the first-team since relegation to the Championship in 2018 - Harry Souttar, Nathan Collins, Tyrese Campbell and Tom Edwards have all broken into the senior side and gone on to become regulars at Premier League or Championship level, with Souttar and Collins both fetching sizable fees when sold on to Leicester City and Burnley respectively.

As is the nature of football nowadays, particularly in the EFL, clubs must try to identify youngsters that they feel have the potential to consolidate themselves in their first-team and hopefully save them a lot on fees for incoming players.

Stoke are no different, and have multiple youngsters pushing to make waves in the first-team next season - here at Football League World we have identified three players that could save, and make, the Potters a lot of money in the future.

Emre Tezgel

Despite only being 18-years-old, Burton-born Emre Tezgel is a striker that has caught the eye of fans for a number of years due to his impressive goal tally in the Potters' youth teams.

At 16, Tezgel became the youngest player to ever play for Stoke in January 2022 when he came on as a late substitute in an FA Cup victory over Leyton Orient, then he also made another appearance in the next round against Wigan Athletic before making the bench in the final league game of that season against Coventry.

He made a further four first-team substitute appearances in 2022/23, but picked up some persistent muscle issues and did not feature at any level from February to October last year before he returned to action for the Potters' youth sides and then headed out on loan to MK Dons in the January transfer window to help with their play-off push.

Tezgel made just five league starts in his 17 Dons appearances, but registered three goals and assists each under Mike Williamson - a decent return given his age, past injury issues and lack of minutes.

Still only 18, he will return to Stoke hungry this summer, and could easily make a pre-season claim to be included in Steven Schumacher's first-team plans for the season ahead - his long-time youth strike partner Nathan Lowe looks more likely to head out on loan to develop after having his own breakout season in the first team in 2023/24.

Sol Sidibe

17-year-old Sol Sidibe has the potential to go on and become a regular fixture in Stoke's first-team in the years to come, that is, if he sticks around at his boyhood club after reported links this summer to Chelsea, Monaco and AC Milan.

Sidibe's father Mamady is a cult hero among Potters fans for his promotion-winning spell at the club from 2005 to 2013, and his son joined the club's academy set-up as an 8-year-old in 2015 and has progressed through the ranks up to the senior side ever since.

He signed professional terms at Stoke last July and has broken into the first-team squad this past season, making his professional debut in August against Rotherham and breaking Tezgel's club youngest-player record, while becoming the first player born in 2007 to feature in either of the top two divisions - proving how highly-rated he is by all at the club.

He made eight appearances in his debut campaign, and The Sentinel has reported that boss Schumacher has Sidibe in his senior plans and he will be reporting with the first team when pre-season commences this summer, so it is clear that the 2024/25 campaign could be the one where he is a regular fixture in the squad and fully begins a potentially fruitful career at the top level.

Jaden Dixon

Stoke have a good track record of developing young centre-back talents signed from different youth teams, with the aforementioned Collins and Souttar both signed from other clubs and given a pathway into the Potters first-team and beyond in recent years.

17-year-old Jaden Dixon wants to follow that same path - he was signed from Tottenham Hotspur last summer in a surprise move by Spurs to let him leave despite being so highly-rated.

He trained with the first-team squad and made the senior bench for the first time at Leicester City last October, and featured in all but three Premier League 2 matches for the club’s U21s, even captaining the side during their final fixture of the campaign.

Dixon is a regular at U17 level with England, and signed a three-year professional contract with Stoke on his 17th birthday last month - a clear sign that the Potters want him to stick around.

Stoke are not currently blessed with a wealth of stand-out centre-backs at first-team level, so there is no reason why Dixon cannot force his way into a regular spot in the senior side very soon.