Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield Wednesday considered late transfer move for Stoke City player | OneFootball

Stoke City were willing to let Ryan Mmaee leave the club in the January window, with Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle among his admirers, but the forward decided to stay put.

Ryan Mmaee endures difficult start to life in the Championship

The Morocco international joined the Potters in the summer from Ferencvaros, and he arrived with a good reputation, having impressed both domestically and in Europe for the Hungarian champions.

However, Mmaee has struggled to adapt to the Championship in the early months, having scored just three goals and registered two assists in 20 appearances so far.

Of course, things haven’t been easy for the player at all, as it’s been a turbulent campaign for Stoke, as they languish in 19th in the table, with Steven Schumacher having replaced Alex Neil following their disappointing start.

Steven Schumacher to make his mark at Stoke

The new boss arrived with a great reputation following the work he did with Plymouth, which saw Schumacher take them back to the Championship.

His start at Stoke has been mixed, but he will be given time to bring in his own players, and there’s sure to be major changes to the squad in the summer.

He would’ve wanted to do that in January, but it’s a notoriously difficult window, so whilst some business was done, both with incomings and outgoings, there’s more on the cards moving forward.

And, one man who had the opportunity to leave last week was Mmaee, as TEAMtalk revealed that he was told he could find a new club, with two Championship sides among those keeping tabs on the 26-year-old.

“They (Stoke) looked to sell some of their players with the clock working against them. One of those was Ryan Mmaee, who was informed at the start of the final week his team were free to work on a potential exit. This left little time for the correct move to be finalised and a number of options were turned down.

“First was Turkish side Konyaspor, who were quickly dismissed. They were joined by Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Hatayspor, Antalyaspor and Metz, who were keen on loans. Mmaee wanted to stay and prove his worth.”

Sheffield Wednesday needed more firepower

It’s no surprise that the Owls were keen on Mmaee as they are struggling in the relegation zone, with scoring goals a major issue for Danny Rohl.

Even though Mmaee hasn’t been the most prolific, he would’ve brought something different to the attack with his movement, so it could’ve been a good fit.

With Plymouth, the need isn’t as desperate, but the way they play is another that could have benefited the striker.

But, he will now finish the season with Stoke, and Mmaee will hope to show Schumacher over the next few months that he is good enough to be part of his plans at the Bet365 Stadium for the years to come.

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