Stoke City simply must want a repeat of £2m Man Utd transfer soon | OneFootball

Ryan Shawcross became a Potters legend in his 13 years at the club

Stoke City have not enjoyed the best of times in the Championship since relegation from the top-flight over six years ago, and their poor defensive records season-by-season have been a key factor in their lack of recent success.

The Potters rode the crest of a wave for ten years in the Premier League from 2008 to 2018, and were famed, particularly under hard-line boss Tony Pulis, for their gritty, backs-against-the-wall performances that saw them challenge the top-flight's status quo and punch above their weight for numerous seasons.

That identity was changed by Mark Hughes, and success followed with the ex-Manchester United man at the helm, but Stoke lost track of their character somewhere along the way, and it ultimately led to their demise, which continues into the present-day.

One man who knew what it meant to pull on the red and white stripes was centre-back Ryan Shawcross, who captained the Potters for most of his thirteen years as a player at the bet365 Stadium, and is a bonafide club legend, with many regarding him as one of Stoke's best ever players to this day.

Stoke supporters, and current boss Narcis Pelach, will understand that there may never be another like the former England international in the Potteries, but must still hold out hope that the club could one day come across a player, and transfer, like him again soon.

Ryan Shawcross became a Stoke City legend after his move from Manchester United

While the word 'legend' should not be bandied around too often in regard to footballers, Shawcross is a player that it undoubtedly applies to when looking at Stoke's most iconic players in recent times, and in the club's entire history.

The centre-back first arrived at the Britannia Stadium on loan from the Red Devils as a fresh-faced 19-year-old in August 2007, as the Potters looked to achieve promotion to the Premier League under Pulis, who had led them to a eighth-placed finish in the season prior.

His impact on the team was so clear that Stoke made his move a permanent one for just £1m in the 2008 January window, which soon rose to £2m as he played a key role in helping the Potters reach the promised land of the Premier League in his debut campaign, with seven goals in 41 league games.

Shawcross formed a strong partnership with Abdoulaye Faye in his early top-flight years, as he quickly grew into one of England's brightest young centre-back talents, and helped Stoke survive against all odds before being linked with possible moves to other Premier League teams.

He stayed on in ST4 though, and never looked back as he was handed the captaincy ahead of the 2010/11 season, then led the club into the 2011 FA Cup final against Manchester City, and soon their first European campaign in 36 years in the 2011/12 Europa League competition, with his solitary England cap coming in March 2012.

Shawcross was an almost ever-present across numerous seasons at the club, with just one league game missed in both the 2012/13 and 2013/14 campaigns, and his Stoke career was revitalised by Mark Hughes, who introduced a more possession-focused, slick style of play that saw the then-25-year-old win the Potters' Player of the Year award for 2013/14.

The England international offered a dogged balance to Hughes' team full of former Champions League stars like Xherdan Shaqiri, Bojan and Marko Arnautovic, but soon suffered from numerous back injuries that saw him sidelined a lot more often towards the end of Stoke's top-flight reign.

He was a part of the team that suffered relegation to the Championship in 2018, and played regularly on their return to the second-tier, but a serious injury in pre-season ahead of the 2019/20 season saw his Potters career all but ended, as he went on to feature just eight more times before an emotional exit in February 2021.

Another player like Shawcross is exactly what Stoke need nowadays

Shawcross made 453 appearances in his 14 years at the club, to place him eighth in the all-time Stoke appearance list, and he was widely regarded as an underrated Premier League centre-back after being a stalwart in the Potters' back-line and playing consistently in the top-flight for ten seasons.

His affinity with the club has, of course, continued into his retirement from playing, as he is currently their under-21s head-coach, and even took charge of the senior side for one game after Steven Schumacher was sacked in September, with an EFL Cup penalty shootout win over Fleetwood Town in his first-team managerial debut, coincidentally against former Potters teammate and current Cods boss Charlie Adam.

A player like him is one of one for a club like Stoke, especially in the predicament they find themselves nowadays, with players coming and going at will as the club seeks solution after solution to return to their former glory.

His longevity and loyalty to the club is something that is a rapidly decreasing commodity in the modern game, but while the Potters try to climb their way up the Championship table this season, they will hold out some hope for another transfer like Shawcross' to come along and sort out their defensive troubles for many years to come.