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The Potters need to address Emre Tezgel's contract situation as soon as possible before he is free to leave

The emergence of young striker Emre Tezgel has been a big positive in a turbulent season for Stoke City so far, and they must make sure they hold on to him with his contract set to expire at the end of the campaign.

Burton-born Tezgel has been highly rated for a number of years as a youth striker, and is just beginning to make his mark on senior football after being handed consistent opportunities by Steven Schumacher at the beginning of this campaign prior to his sacking in the wake of the Potters' defeat to Oxford United on September 16.

He became the youngest player to ever play for Stoke when he made his senior debut in January 2022 at 16 years and 112 days old, and was reportedly attracting attention from some of the top clubs in England, such as Manchester United and Chelsea, at that time for his impressive exploits in the Potters' youth teams - he bagged 12 times in nine games for the under-18s in 2021/22 - but saw his fleeting career slow down over the next few years due to injuries.

Now he has just turned 19-years-old, and is seemingly back in the senior fold for good at his boyhood club, so his breakthrough needs to prompt the Potters into extending his current deal before he is free to leave at the end of the season.

Emre Tezgel is the future of Stoke's attack

Tezgel signed his first professional contract, a three-year deal, with the Potters in July 2022 after he had made his first-team debut in the FA Cup against Leyton Orient under Michael O'Neill just six months earlier.

The England youth international caught the eye of talent-spotting fans across the country for a number of years due to his impressive goal tally in the Potters' youth teams, and went on to feature six times for the first-team across the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, but his progress soon became stop-start due to persistent muscle issues and the club's subsequent reluctance to push him too far into men's football at such a young age.

Tezgel returned to action for the under-21s late last year after an injury had kept him sidelined, and joined MK Dons on loan in the January window to help with their play-off push, where he made just five league starts in his 17 appearances for the club, but registered three goals and assists each under Mike Williamson - a decent return for his first real foray into men's football.

Off the back of that impressive spell, he has fully broken into the Potters' senior squad this season and begun to net at senior level consistently for the first time in his short career, with his first goal for the club coming in the EFL Cup first round against Carlisle United, and his second the opener in a 5-0 thrashing of Middlesbrough in the next round.

He was handed starts in each of Stoke's first two league games of the campaign against Coventry City and Watford, and held his own against two tough defences, with his stellar start to the season earning him a first call-up to the England Elite League (U20) squad earlier this month, where he started both games and notched an assist against Turkey.

While it remains to be seen what kind of chances he gets under new Potters boss Narcis Pelach, it seems likely that he will continue to feature regularly this season with Stoke's depth still largely limited in attack.

It is pretty clear to see that he is due to be a big part of Stoke's future, regardless of his exploits in this campaign, and the Potters must move to offer him fresh terms with his current contract set to run out next year.

A new Tezgel deal would ward off potential interest from top clubs

Tezgel was being courted by some of the biggest clubs in the world when he was first breaking through with Stoke, and for good reason, as he developed a reputation as one of the country's brightest striker prospects.

The Daily Mail reported in October 2021 that Stoke were facing a battle to hold onto the then-16-year-old amid mounting interest from the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City, but he soon signed his first deal with the Potters not long after to put an end to any interest.

It would not come as a shock to see some top clubs reignite their interest in the 19-year-old if he continues to figure for Stoke this season and does not sign a new deal, and neither Chelsea nor Manchester United have been averse to signing top young prospects in years gone by as they look to return to challenging the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

The Blues have developed a transfer strategy of aiming to sign young players with high potential on long-term contracts since American businessman Todd Boehly took over as chairman in 2022, with 14 teenagers signed to the first-team squad over the last three years, some on free transfers and some for huge fees, as they look to build a team capable of developing together to become top players over time.

United have not been so prolific in stockpiling young players in the hope that some end up breaking into the first-team, or making them a profit in the future, but have a history of enticing young players to play for them, with not many working out for the better.

It may be on a much bigger scale to Tezgel, but the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Daniel James, Donny van de Beek and Jadon Sancho have all seen their careers go downhill after moving from lesser teams to the Red Devils in recent years, and both United and Chelsea have a long history of pinching top prospects from smaller clubs.

Given his goalscoring talents, the sky is truly the limit for Tezgel going forward in his career, and Stoke must make sure that they tie their prospect down to a new, long-term deal as soon as possible.