Stoke City: Surprise at Joselu at Euro 2024 | OneFootball

Stoke City flop Joselu could feature for Spain in Euro 2024

Spain's Euro 2024 campaign began with a bang as Luis de la Fuente's men defeated a strong Croatia side 3–0 thanks to goals from Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Carvajal.

The 2008 and 2012 tournament winners are in action once again on Thursday night when they will take on defending champions Italy, who beat Albania 2-1 on Saturday.

Spain's squad is brimming with talent, such as Barcelona's 16-year-old starlet Lamine Yamal and Manchester City metronome Rodri, while former Stoke City flop Joselu also sits among their ranks.

Stoke fans will be surprised by the player Joselu has become

The 34-year-old spent the season on loan from Espanyol to Real Madrid, where he scored 10 goals in 34 La Liga appearances, helping Los Blancos win their 36th league title.

Joselu also played a crucial role as Carlo Ancelotti's men lifted their 15th Champions League trophy, further extending their total dominance in the European game, as he scored a late semi-final brace off the bench against Bayern Munich to send his team to the final.

His exploits in the Spanish capital have earned him a permanent move to the Bernabeu, but he has not always operated in the highest echelons of European football.

It seems difficult to believe now, but the Spaniard, who also spent the 2011/12 season with Los Blancos, was a flop in the Premier League with Stoke after signing from German side Hannover 96 in the summer of 2015.

Prior to his move to the Potters, Joselu had a decent goalscoring record in the Bundesliga, scoring nine goals in 24 appearances for Frankfurt in 2013/14 before scoring eight in 30 for Hannover the following campaign.

However, he was a disappointment for the Potters as he scored just four goals in 22 league games, and was subsequently loaned out to La Liga side Deportivo La Coruna for the 2016/17 season.

The striker scored five top-flight goals for La Coruna before joining Newcastle United permanently, but he also failed to impress in the North East.

However, a somewhat prolific season has seen him called up to represent his nation at the European Championships, and given his match-winning exploits off the bench for Madrid in the Champions League, we are likely to see him feature for Spain in Euro 2024.

While Potters fans may be surprised to see their club's former flop performing for a nation who are capable of winning the tournament, the wider footballing world will now be bemused by how poor he was in Stoke colours.

Stoke supporters will still have positive memories of Joselu's time at the club

Although the forward himself was disappointing, Potters fans will still have some happy memories of Joselu's time with the club, as he played for the Staffordshire outfit during some of the finest times in the club's history.

The 2015/16 Premier League season, in which the Spain international played for the Potters, was the club's third consecutive finish in the top-half of the top-flight, but just two years before their relegation to the Championship in 2018.

Somewhat bizarrely, Stoke have never threatened the play-off positions or even landed a top-half spot since their second tier return, so despite his underwhelming performances in front of goal, Joselu will be associated with the latter part of the club's relative glory years.

It is, though, his recent career that has peaked interest, and he's part of a Spain squad pursuing a return to the top of European football at international level.