Stoke City transfers for Leicester City or AFC Bournemouth star would be welcomed | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

After a long-standing interest, Stoke City completed the loan signing of Leicester City goalkeeper Daniel Iversen in January.

Iversen worked with former Stoke boss Alex Neil at Preston North End, and according to the Daily Mail, the Scotsman was keen on a reunion in the summer, but the Potters' loan enquiry was rejected by the Foxes.

The 26-year-old did not make a single appearance for Leicester in the first half of the season, and with Mads Hermansen and Jakub Stolarczyk ahead of him in the pecking order, he was allowed to make the temporary move to the bet365 Stadium in January.

Iversen has established himself as the Potters' number one goalkeeper since his arrival, keeping three clean sheets in 10 appearances so far.

It was a tough start to life at Stoke for Iversen, but he has starred in recent weeks, and manager Steven Schumacher praised his performance in the 2-1 win at Preston on Saturday after he made a crucial save when the scores were level.

"Huge, yeah," Schumacher told the club's official website. "It’s what you need your goalie for. Daniel, we know, is a really good goalkeeper and in this run-in, at this stage of the season, the games are decided by small margins. A brilliant save from him and that gave us that little bit of energy that we might have needed to go down and get one from the other end."

The victory over Preston was Stoke's second in their last three games, and they currently sit 19th in the table, three points clear of the relegation zone.

Stoke City fan pundit on Daniel Iversen future

FLW's Stoke City fan pundit Ben Rowley says that he would be pleased to see the club sign Iversen permanently in the summer, but he believes they could look to bring Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers back on a full-time basis after he spent the first half of the season on loan at the bet365 Stadium.

"I think when Iversen first came to Stoke, people weren't all that impressed by him in his first few games," Ben said.

"Stoke were playing poorly anyway, but there were a couple of chances that he really should have kept out and would have helped Stoke to a few more points.

"But in the last three or four games, he's put in some excellent displays, very similar to those of Mark Travers, who was in goal for the first half of the season, and who fans really wanted in on a permanent deal.

"So I think it could be Daniel Iversen, it could be Mark Travers, it could be a completely different goalkeeper, but someone of their calibre is really need at Stoke, we've not had a settled number one since relegation really. "So someone like Daniel Iversen, if he can maintain his form for the rest of the season, I'd be really happy with.

"Alternatively, it could be someone like Mark Travers."

Stoke City should look to secure Daniel Iversen agreement

It is understandable that Iversen took a little while to find his feet at Stoke after such a long time without playing, and he was coming in to a struggling team, but it is no surprise to see his performance levels improve.

Iversen is an excellent goalkeeper at Championship level, underlined by the fact he won Preston's Player of the Year award in the 2021-22 season, and his form will be crucial to Stoke's survival hopes this campaign.

The Potters would be unlikely to be able to sign Iversen permanently if they were relegated, but if they stay in the Championship, they must attempt to complete a deal for the Dane.