Saudi Arabian club take action in pursuit of Stoke City summer transfer | OneFootball

Ryan Mmaee struggled for game time in the second half of last season

Stoke City’s Ryan Mmaee is attracting transfer interest from Saudi Arabian club Al-Kholood this summer.

According to L’'Equipe journalist Loic Tanzi, the 26-year-old could be heading for an exit from the Potters just 12 months after joining the club.

Mmaee arrived following a £3.4 million agreement last summer with Hungarian side Ferencváros.

The forward contributed three goals and three assists from 24 league appearances in his debut campaign at the Bet365 Stadium (all stats from Fbref).

However, his game time became limited in the second half of the campaign under Steven Schumacher after his December arrival as coach.

Ryan Mmaee’s Stoke future

It has been reported that Al-Kholood are taking steps to complete a deal to bring Mmaee to the Saudi Arabian side.

It remains to be seen whether Stoke are willing to cash in on the striker after just one year at the club.

Any deal could yet depend on what kind of fee that might be offered, with Mmaee having fallen down the pecking order of Schumacher’s squad.

The Morocco international made just eight league appearances following the turn of the year, with game time becoming quite limited under the new Stoke manager.

This has led to questions over his future going into the summer market, and now an approach could be on the cards from Saudi Arabia.

However, conflicting reports have also suggested that Al-Kholood are not looking at the Stoke player for the time being.

Any transfer involving Mmaee this summer will likely see the Potters look to recoup as much of the £3.4 million fee they paid to sign him as possible.

Mmaee’s contract runs until 2026, giving Stoke some leverage in any potential negotiations over a move during this transfer window.

New technical director Jonathan Walters will also likely be heavily involved in any decision over his future, as well as Schumacher.

Stoke City’s transfer plans

Schumacher will be keen to work alongside Walters to build a team capable of improving on last season’s disappointing 17th place finish.

The club made up to 19 transfers last year under a different recruitment structure, but the team struggled to perform.

This led to Schumacher arriving as manager in December, with Walters being appointed as technical director in April after a brief interim stint in the role.

Stoke have been linked with moves for the likes of Eric Bocat and Plymouth Argyle’s Mickel Miller as part of their transfer plans so far this year.

Ryan Mmaee sale would make sense for Stoke

The sale of Mmaee this summer would make a lot of sense for Stoke given his lack of game time under Schumacher.

Pre-season could be a chance for him to show the manager that he can be a good fit for the team, but cutting their losses and pursuing a sale this summer is also an option.

It is still early in the window, so there is plenty of time to weigh up a decision, and it all ultimately depends on whether an acceptable offer even arrives or not.

This summer could be quieter than the last as a consequence of how busy it was 12 months ago, but this is an important period for Schumacher and Walters to cement their mark on the first team squad.