Aston Villa, Liverpool deals show Stoke City are right to raid Hull City: View | OneFootball

The Potters parted ways with head of recruitment Jared Dublin on May 20th after eleven months and two eventful windows with him at the transfer helm.

Stoke placed an extra focus on scouting outside the UK under Dublin, and signed 23 players across the summer and winter windows, with some hits like Wouter Burger, Jun-Ho Bae, and Million Manhoef, but also numerous misses like Wesley, Chiquinho, and Nikola Jojic.

The former Reading head of scouting was appointed under then-technical director Ricky Martin but he was sacked in February as the Potters turned to ex-player Jon Walters to take over proceedings, meaning Dublin's exit seemed inevitable given the likely change in transfer strategy.

Stoke are now searching for a new chief to oversee transfers alongside Schumacher and Walters, and Hull City head of recruitment Lee Darnbrough has been tipped to join the Potters by journalist Alan Nixon ahead of another huge summer as they look to finish in the top half in the Championship for the first time since relegation in 2018.

Darnbrough has been behind some key transfers and operated smartly on a modest Championship budget, which has admittedly grown in recent years, since he joined the Tigers after leaving Norwich City in 2017, so it seems a smart ploy by Stoke to bring him in.

Darnbrough has had some great deals for Hull

Hull may not have achieved major success on the pitch in the seven years since Darnbrough's arrival, but he has still overseen some key transfers that helped the club to League One promotion and come close to the Championship play-offs last season.

Future stars Harry Wilson and Fikayo Tomori signed on loan for the club in his first summer as chief, while he brought in players like Malik Wilks, Greg Docherty, and Richard Smallwood in 2020, with all three playing key roles in the Tigers' immediate promotion back to the Championship as League One champions in 2021.

George Honeyman, Alfie Jones, and Jacob Greaves have all been signed on his watch, and gone on to win the club's Player of the Year award in 2021, 2023, and 2024, while Hull have frequently given younger players from higher teams a chance under Darnbrough with the likes of Regan Slater and Ryan Longman arriving from Sheffield United and Brighton, and becoming key players in years gone by.

The last two windows have been some of the most adventurous at the club in years under Darnbrough, with a smart use of the loan market as Fabio Carvalho, Tyler Morton, and Liam Delap all joined and helped Liam Rosenior's side to finish seventh in the Championship table, just three points off the play-offs.

21-year-old Carvalho had a brilliant six-month spell with the club after joining on loan from Liverpool in January, registering nine goals and two assists in 20 games and describing his time at Hull as "one of the best six months" of his career as the club came agonisingly close to the top six.

Morton, also on loan from the Reds, was a near ever-present under Liam Rosenior as he made 41 appearances while scoring three goals and laying on five assists in all competitions from the base of midfield, and was rewarded with a maiden call-up to the England U21 side in November and the EFL Young Player of the Month award for an impressive December.

Jaden Philogene was signed permanently for a cut-price fee of £5m from Aston Villa in September and had an impressive debut season at the KCOM Stadium, scoring 12 goals and notching five assists in 32 appearances, including an outstanding rabona goal at Rotherham in February.

These deals are probably the best example of Darnbrough's expert domestic knowledge - Philogene will surely net the Tigers a huge profit when he does eventually move on, and all three are destined to play at the highest level in the future.

Despite his success stories, Darnbrough's strategy has not always worked out and has seen some flops join the Tigers - James Scott, Allahyar Sayyedmanesh and Dogukan Sinik were all signed for relatively big fees but did not work out.

Stoke's transfer business has undoubtedly been hit-and-miss in recent years, and Darnbrough's experience and contacts could certainly serve them well if he is appointed.

Darnbrough's services have been wanted in the past

Stoke's approach to the 47-year-old is not the first time that he has been linked to leaving Hull in his seven years at the club.

He was touted for a move to Scottish Premiership side Hearts in 2019, according to Edinburgh Live, with then-Hull-boss Grant McCann delivering a glowing review of his work at the club amid the links.

He said: "He’s been brilliant, he really has. The work that a lot of people don’t see, that goes on at the stadium with him and the two lads that work with him there, the games they cover, the amount of scouts we have at games each week is incredible.

"His role is really important at the club, and we enjoy working with him. He’s been brilliant."

Premier League outfit Wolves were also linked to his services by Hull Live in 2020 due to his 'in-depth knowledge of the British transfer market', but he stayed put in East Yorkshire and Wolves internally promoted scout Matt Hobbs.

It is clear by these advances that Darnbrough is a respected figure in his position in English football, and Stoke could be looking ahead to some successful transfer business if he is hired before the summer window officially opens.