Anderson features: 2 Stoke City players that could leave on loan before August 30th deadline | OneFootball

FLW looks at two Potters youngsters that could depart for the season before the transfer window shuts

Stoke City are undergoing a key summer of transfer business as Steven Schumacher looks to guide them up the table in the Championship next season.

Schumacher led Stoke to a 17th-placed finish last season after some strong form at the end of the campaign, so will be hoping to build on that in 2024/25.

The Potters have dipped their toe into the transfer market this summer, with goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, centre-back Ben Gibson and wing-back Eric Bocat arriving from Rotherham United, Norwich City, Sint-Truiden and Blackburn Rovers respectively.

Numerous first-team players like Tyrese Campbell and Wesley have departed upon the expiry of their contracts, while centre-backs Matthew Baker and David Okagbue have rejoined Newport County and Walsall on respective permanent deals and young goalkeeper Tommy Simkin has also joined the Saddlers on a season-long loan.

More arrivals and departures are certain to happen in the coming weeks, and Schumacher and co. still have a lot of work to do to shape the Potters' squad before the window slams shut on August 30, and with that said, we have picked out two current players that could make a loan exit before the deadline.

Freddie Anderson

17-year-old Freddie Anderson has recently broken into the Potters first-team in pre-season, but will likely see his chances in the Championship come at a premium, so may head out on loan to play regular minutes at a good level in 2024/25.

Anderson is the son of ex-England international Viv, but plays in the centre of defence rather than at right-back like his father, and will surely hope to emulate him in the coming years as he takes his first steps into senior football.

He joined the Potters last summer following a nine-year stay with Manchester City, and marked his 17th birthday by signing his first professional contract in October, a three-year deal, after impressing for the under-18 and under-21 sides in his first few months.

Anderson has called Stoke "the perfect place" to progress his career, and has already seen his faith in the club pay off after being called up to train with Schumacher's first-team squad in pre-season, while featuring alongside fellow youngster Jaden Dixon in games against Cork City, Stockport County, Bolton Wanderers and AZ Alkmaar.

Stoke are in the market for centre-back reinforcements this month, so a regular stay in the first-team does look unlikely for Anderson, especially with Dixon seemingly more likely to make the step-up to a place in the squad in the opening stages of the season.

He would definitely be best served heading out to a team that is going to give him regular playing time, and also play similarly to how Schumacher likes to set up.

Nathan Lowe

Nathan Lowe joined the Potters' academy in 2016 as a 10-year-old, and has worked his way through the youth ranks to the first-team to be handed his first consistent opportunities in senior football in the last 18 months.

He was prolific at under-18 level in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, and signed his first professional contract on his 17th birthday in September 2022 ahead of a promotion to first-team training in 2023.

Alex Neil gave Lowe his senior debut as a substitute against Blackpool in February 2023, then he featured off the bench again in the FA Cup against Brighton ten days later, and made the matchday squad three more times in the Championship before the end of the campaign.

He was kept in and around the first-team last season while also turning out for the U21's, then enjoyed a dream first league appearance of the campaign on September 30, as he stepped off the bench to bag an 89th minute winner at Bristol City, and end Stoke's five-game winless run in the process.

The 18-year-old made 15 appearances in all competitions under both Neil and Schumacher, but could not build on his goal at Ashton Gate and was largely used off the bench throughout the rest of his first full campaign.

He now faces an even tougher battle for a spot in the squad every week with the arrival of Sam Gallagher and the re-emergence of his fellow highly-rated youth team strike partner Emre Tezgel, so could find a move to a lower League One or top-end League Two side his best chance of playing week-in, week-out this season.