“This one is a tricky one” – Stoke City fan pundit reacts to club’s decision on midfielder | OneFootball

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Football League World

·18 May 2022

“This one is a tricky one” – Stoke City fan pundit reacts to club’s decision on midfielder

Article image:“This one is a tricky one” – Stoke City fan pundit reacts to club’s decision on midfielder

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…

Stoke City were heavily involved in the early season promotion conversation in the Championship in 2021/22.


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Nick Powell and Mario Vrancic were key performers for Michael O’Neill’s men as the Potters ruffled some feathers towards the top two in the opening few months of the campaign.

Unfortunately, the Potters’ form slumped around the turn of the year, not helped by an injury crisis, and Stoke finished 14th in their fourth campaign since relegation from the Premier League.

FLW’s Stoke City fan pundit Ben Rowley gave an honest assessment on Stoke’s decision to extend Vrancic’s contract for another season.

Speaking to Football League World, Rowley said“This one is a tricky one because Vrancic started this season exceptionally well, he was one of the best chance creators in the league, and plenty of people were looking at him as one of the best free signings in the Championship.

“Over Christmastime he got injured and he fell out of the team, and when he had the opportunity to come back into it, his fitness went through the floor and his performances followed suit.

“He just wasn’t good enough to get into the Stoke team towards the end, and there were other options playing ahead of him where possible.

“I think that giving him a new deal could be a really clever move with a pre-season behind him again, we’ll hope that his match fitness builds and we can see the best of Mario Vrancic, but if he really has gone over the hill, in terms of his fitness, it may be just a waste of an extension, unfortunately.”

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