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The Potters should not let Ben Wilmot leave this month

Stoke City are set to be busy in the final month of the transfer window as boss Steven Schumacher shapes his new-look squad while undertaking his first full campaign in charge.

Stoke staved off relegation and finished 17th in the Championship in 2023/24, and had a good start to the new season with a win each in the league and EFL Cup against Coventry City and Carlisle United, but then suffered a heavy loss to Watford in their first away game of the campaign.

The Potters are yet to sell any player for a transfer fee this summer, yet will be set to sanction some departures in the coming weeks to try and balance the books after so many arrivals, but one player that the club should not sell is centre-back Ben Wilmot, after a fresh report emerged linking Hull City with a potential move for his services before the transfer window closes.

TEAMtalk has recently claimed that Hull are ready to test Stoke's resolve with a bid for the 24-year-old in the coming weeks, as he figures highly on their wanted list with new boss Tim Walter eager to strengthen his squad before the end of the month.

Wilmot has not been at his best since two consecutive serious injuries last year, but he is still vital to Schumacher's style of play and is one of two fit senior centre-backs at the club right now, so it would make little sense to sell him, unless a huge bid comes in that is too good for the club to turn down.

Wilmot has had a mixed time at Stoke

Interest in Wilmot may come as a shock this summer after a tough 2023/24 campaign, but he has shown promise in years gone by to become one of the best centre-backs in the second-tier since joining the Potters from Watford in 2021, and has a clear pedigree after winning England youth caps at under-19, 20 and 21 level.

Wilmot arrived in the Potteries for a fee in the region of £1.5m to £2m off the back of a promotion-winning campaign with the Hornets, and immediately slotted into Michael O'Neill's side as he impressed alongside the likes of Harry Souttar and Danny Batth.

He again featured week-in, week-out in his second season as a Stoke player, then suffered a serious back injury in April 2023 and saw his season end prematurely, but did win the club's Player of the Season award for his consistently standout performances at the back.

Wilmot returned to action at the start of last season, but was again ruled out for two months in October with a knee injury, and has never truly recaptured his previous form since coming back into the team at the start of this year.

He was still largely preferred over other options by Schumacher in the second half of last season, when fit, and he has continued to figure from the off at the beginning of this campaign alongside new man Ben Gibson, albeit Stoke do lack proper depth at the heart of their defence at this moment in time.

Schumacher will not want to lose Wilmot

Despite his inconsistencies in recent months, it makes little sense for Stoke to sell Wilmot this summer with so little time in the transfer window left.

He has played a full 90 minutes in all three of Schumacher's side's opening games so far, and is one of his only fit centre-back options right now alongside Gibson, with Michael Rose out injured, and Jaden Dixon and Freddie Anderson both still set to mainly feature for the under-21's this season.

If anything, the Potters need to bring in additions to their centre-back depth before the end of the month, so letting one of their key players leave to a Championship rival will surely be a non-starter for Schumacher and the club.

Wilmot has been previously valued at around £4m by Stoke, according to TEAMtalk, so a potential offer from the Tigers would have to be an improvement on that to tempt the club into a possible sale, and they should only even consider selling him if a bid comes in that is too good to turn down.