Stoke City confirm departure of senior player | OneFootball

Defender Moritz Bauer will leave Stoke City to join Russian side FC Ufa on a permanent basis, the Championship club have confirmed.

Bauer joined Stoke back in 2018 January transfer window from Rubin Kazan, before signing a new five-year deal with the club that summer, despite their relegation to the Championship.

However, Bauer has made 26 appearances in all competitions for the Potters, none of which have come since 2019, after falling down the pecking order at the club.

The right-back spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Celtic, before joining Ufa on a temporary basis this February, helping the club to narrowly avoid relegation from the Russian top-flight.

Now that deal has become a longer-term one, with the Potters announcing that Bauer has now returned to Ufa on a permanent transfer, with the 29-year-old due to join the club on the 1st July.

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Despite the fact that Bauer has two years remaining on his Stoke contract, there has been no clarification over whether there is a fee involved in the deal, undisclosed or otherwise.

The Verdict

This does look to be the best outcome for all parties.

Things have simply not worked out for Bauer at Stoke in the end, and it is hard to see how he would have forced his way back in at the club, had he returned to the Potteries following that loan move this summer.

As a result, a move elsewhere in search of more regular playing time seems sensible, and that is something he may well be confident of getting, giving his is already familiar with Ufa from his loan spell there.

For Stoke as well, it seems sensible to move Bauer on, with his future now one less distraction in the dressing room and behind the scenes as they aim for an improved campaign in 2021/22.