Wolves loan was one of the strangest in Stoke City history | OneFootball

Chiquinho's time with the Potters was a short and strange one

The 2023 summer transfer window was a hectic one for Stoke City as they looked to rebuild under Alex Neil, and while some players brought in then are still with the club now, Wolves loanee Chiquinho failed to ever settle and proved to be one of the strangest signings in Potters history.

Stoke spent a considerable amount on new players in the lead up to the 2023/24 season, with wholesale changes in terms of transfer policy, as Jared Dublin joined as Head of Recruitment and placed more of an onus on investing in talents from around Europe and beyond, as well as younger players with high potential in a low-risk, high-reward strategy.

The likes of Wouter Burger, Bae Junho and Million Manhoef adapted to life in English football well, and all still feature for the Potters to this day, but there were also some misses in the market, which was inevitable, given that Stoke signed 18 players to join their squad that summer.

Portuguese winger Chiquinho arrived on loan from Wolves in July, with Premier League pedigree and a chance to find his feet properly in English football, but not many could have expected how the beginning of his time at the bet365 Stadium would play out, as a fall-out with boss Neil saw him recalled by his parent club just over five weeks after he had signed for Stoke.

Chiquinho's time at Stoke was over before it barely even began

The Potters signed a lot of players over the 2023 transfer window, but not many had been met with as much expectation as Chiquinho, with the Portuguese youth international looking to return to form having missed the whole season prior with a knee injury after he had initially notched three assists in eight Premier League games in 2021/22.

Then-technical director Ricky Martin explained that the Potters' new arrival had "an infectious enthusiasm for the game" upon signing, while Chiquinho seemed pleased to be at Stoke and looked set to play a key role alongside his fellow Wolves loanee Ki-Jana Hoever, who was a fan favourite in his time in ST4.

Neil's side started the new season well, with a 4-1 win over Rotherham United on the opening day, as Chiquinho stepped off the bench for 15 minutes on his City debut, and three days later, he made his first start for the club and completed an hour in an EFL Cup win against West Brom.

A trip to Championship new-boys Ipswich Town was up next, and the Wolves loanee was handed another starting berth on the right side of attack, his first in the league for the club, but lasted only 34 minutes before he was substituted for tactical reasons for Wesley Moraes.

Some players may have taken that in their stride, but Chiquinho likely felt singled out by boss Neil as he explained that he was "forced to make a change" so early in the game with his side already 1-0 down, and a week later he was back on the bench for the visit of Watford, but again came on for 10 minutes at the end as the Potters returned to winning ways.

That cameo against the Hornets signified the last of his four appearances for Stoke, as he was surprisingly recalled by Wolves on September 1 to complete another loan move to Primeira Liga side Famalicao in his native country, and a whirlwind six weeks in the Potteries came to an end.

It was initially unclear as to why the Portuguese winger had returned to the West Midlands so soon after he had signed for Stoke, but many supporters were apathetic to the decision anyway, after Andre Vidigal had impressed in the opening stages of the campaign and Sead Haksabanovic was signed on loan from Celtic before the window had closed.

In the wake of his decision to hook the 23-year-old in the first-half at Ipswich, boss Neil had explained that it was nothing personal and that "he’ll be fine," but as it turns out, the pair were not seeing eye-to-eye in training, and that was what had contributed to his swift exit.

With Chiquinho already having left North Staffordshire and settling into more new surroundings back in Portugal, Express & Star journalist Liam Keen was soon able to explain the real reasons behind the recall decision, and provided more of an insight into the relationship between Neil and the player.

"It’s quite a complicated thing for a club to cancel one loan. Obviously he had a recall (option) in January as well. Fortunately, Stoke were fairly receptive to Wolves to make it happen," he explained on the Express & Star Wolves podcast.

"The long and short of it, really, is he didn’t see eye to eye with Alex Neil at Stoke.

"I might be being slightly harsh on Alex Neil because I’ve never had any experiences of him – I’m pure going based off perception here. But he feels like he’s probably not the easiest guy to work for particularly if you’re a young foreign guy who’s maybe not used to his style.

"But I can’t use that as an excuse for Chiquinho. If you’re not doing what you’re told or asked to do or you’re not putting in 100%, it’s quite poor for a young lad on his part. Something I didn’t really expect from him either, because all the indications I’ve had from him… he wouldn’t have done that.

"I think there probably is (fault on both sides). He didn’t see eye to eye with Neil. Wolves wanted to find a solution to it quickly."

Chiquinho went on to impress on his return to Portugal, with five goals and four assists in 27 league games, while Neil was sacked by the Potters not long after their saga in December, after they had won just six of the opening 20 Championship matches.

It is fair to say that the Wolves loanee's near six weeks at Stoke were not a success, and while he may well go on to have a decent career in Europe, his loan spell at the bet365 Stadium is certainly one of the strangest in the club's history.