Stoke City must make player call this summer with end of 2025 contract looming: View | OneFootball

Stoke City have already made transfer moves to improve and trim their squad ahead of the 2024/25 campaign under Steven Schumacher.

Viktor Johansson and Ben Gibson have both joined the Potters from Rotherham United and Norwich City respectively, while decisions have been made to release first-team players Tyrese Campbell, Ciaran Clark, Tom Edwards, Wesley and D’Margio Wright-Phillips from their contracts.

Stoke currently have around 25 players that could figure in Schumacher's 2024/25 squad if they are still at the club in August, and one of those is the lesser-spotted left-back Liam McCarron.

McCarron joined the Potters from Leeds United in June 2022, but has since made just five appearances at senior level despite appearing in the Premier League with the Whites under Marcelo Bielsa.

The former Scotland U19 international is now 23 and out of contract next summer, so Stoke need to make a decision soon - either give him a chance in the first team squad for the upcoming season or sell him for a small fee to a team where he will play regular games.

McCarron should have done more for Stoke

Preston-born McCarron came through the Carlisle United academy, and made his first-team debut for his boyhood club at just 17-years-old in 2018 against Morecambe in the EFL Trophy.

After turning down an improved contract offer from the Cumbrians, he signed for Leeds United on a three-year contract in July 2019 and soon became a regular in the Premier League 2 for their U21 side, with Marcelo Bielsa even handing him his senior Premier League debut in a 4–1 defeat to Arsenal at Elland Road in December 2021.

That proved to be his only senior appearance for the club, as he joined Stoke on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2022 with the prospect of playing regular first-team football looking likely under then-boss Michael O'Neill, who was sacked just two months later.

Alex Neil came in and almost immediately sanctioned a loan move to local rivals Port Vale for McCarron on September 1, as he became the first loan player to make the cross-city move since March 1978.

McCarron did not settle and made just four appearances in his first two months at Vale Park, with only two of those in League One, before he returned to the Stoke fold in January 2023 to play in four U21 games and seemingly had his time with the Valiants cut short.

He was not registered to Stoke's first-team squad submitted to the EFL last summer, so was set to spend another year on the fringes with the U21's, before being handed a lifeline by current boss Steven Schumacher in January.

Roughly 18 months after his arrival from Leeds, McCarron was given his first-team Potters debut as a substitute in the FA Cup against Brighton - it was a surprise move from Schumacher, who spoke to StokeonTrentLive after the game of how the door to his team was still open for the 23-year-old.

He said: "When I spoke to Alex Morris (u-21 coach) last week about him, I’d recognised Liam's name because I was sure we prepared against him last season when he played for Vale against us, so said, ‘Where is he?’ and he was training with the under-21s still.

“So I said, ‘Explain it to me Alex,’ and he said, ‘He's quick, he's got a lovely left foot, he can get up and down the pitch and he defends ok.’ I said we had better get him in the squad then because we need a left-back who can do all those four things.

“I spoke to (McCarron) and said, ‘Look it’s up to you, you can train, you can impress and you can try to take your opportunity. The door isn’t shut for anyone at this club.’ So he was in the squad because we needed him and I actually thought he did really well.

"Right now, the door is open for anyone and everyone to try to smash in and stake a claim to stay on the inside."

High praise from the boss after his cameo against Brighton, but whether the same sentiment is shared by Schumacher this summer remains to be seen - McCarron did actually impress with the U21's as the season went on too, registering one goal and three assists in 11 PL2 games.

Stoke clearly have a decision to make, whether that be to let him go, or keep him around and give him a chance in the first-team - it seems likely that he will initially report to first-team training this summer, so his performance in pre-season training and friendlies could make or break his future at the club.

McCarron could solve left-back issues

The Potters signed left-back Enda Stevens last summer to replace Josh Tymon, who was allowed to join Swansea City, but the Republic of Ireland international spent a large part of the season on the treatment table and was only able to play 21 times in the Championship all season.

That left centre midfielder Jordan Thompson and utility man Lynden Gooch to deputise in an unfamiliar position, with Stoke's plainly obvious lack of cover at left-back something that undoubtedly will be addressed this summer.

The Potters have already been linked with moves for out-of-contract Norwich man Sam McCallum and dynamic Plymouth full-back Mickel Miller, but McCarron could show that he has been the answer to their issues all along.

If he does do enough in pre-season to be considered by Schumacher, it would allow the club to allocate funds elsewhere, and him to finally get going in what has been a very stop-start career so far.

If he cannot force his way into the squad, however, it has to be a permanent transfer away with his contract up next summer - they could also get a fee for a player that has not done much, and at 23, he could begin to build his career again at a lower-league club.