Stoke City struck gold with record-breaking £15m man that started a gamble | OneFootball

Stoke City's signing of Harry Souttar in 2016 proved to be an excellent piece of business by the Potters.

Stoke City signed Harry Souttar from Dundee United in 2016 as a 17-year-old, and he would develop into an important player for the Potters, who eventually sold him for a significant profit.

Whilst still in the Premier League in 2016, Stoke were on the hunt for youthful talent to bring into their academy, which they could develop into first-team players.

In came Nathan Collins from Irish club Cherry Orchard that January, followed by Tyrese Campbell from Man City, and then Souttar from Dundee United.

Collins captained Stoke at 18 years old, and has gone on to play in the Premier League for Burnley, Wolves and Brentford, having broken the record fee paid for an Irish player twice despite still being just 24, whilst Campbell made 164 appearances for Stoke across eight years at the club before his free switch to Sheffield United last summer.

Souttar spent the second half of the 2018/19 season on loan with Fleetwood Town in League One, and having impressed, he would spend the following season on loan with the Cod Army and impressed once again.

Harry Souttar became an important player for Stoke City

After proving his worth with Fleetwood, Souttar broke into the Potters first team for the 2020/21 season as well as the Australia national team, playing 38 Championship league games that year and earning caps against Nepal and Chinese Taipei.

The six-foot-seven centre-back would remain as a key player for the following season, and would captain the club on four occasions before tearing his cruciate ligament, keeping him out for the rest of the 2021/22 campaign and the beginning of the 2022/23 one.

The Aussie would recover just in time for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where his performances earned rave reviews. The Socceroos would ultimately succumb to eventual winners Argentina in the Round of 16, but Souttar had done enough to attract Premier League attention.

Harry Souttar sale was an excellent piece of business by Stoke City

In January 2023, the 26-year-old completed a reported £15 million move to Premier League side Leicester City on deadline day, with the Foxes turning to the Scottish-born Aussie to shore up their defence and try to fend off relegation

Souttar played 12 times in the top flight for Leicester as they eventually suffered relegation and would find himself out of the squad the following campaign in the Championship, with head coach Enzo Maresca preferring the pairing of Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes - both of whom were more equipped and aligned with his philosophy of playing out from the back.

A loan to Sheffield United last season was cut short due to the Aussie rupturing his achilles tendon halfway through the campaign.

Now back with Leicester in the Championship, it is not expected for the defender to be ready for action until 2026, and it remains unclear whether he is a part of new manager Marti Cifuentes' plans moving forwards. However, given how his Leicester career has played out to date, one may find it difficult to bank on the defender enjoying any sort of redemption at the King Power Stadium.

Having played just 36 league games since leaving the Potters in early 2023, it appears as though Stoke cashed in at the right time with Souttar.

The Aussie has suffered two horrendous injuries which have kept him out of action for a large amount of time, and it seems as though what has become Leicester's loss was Stoke's gain.