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Robert Huth became a key man for the Potters after his 2009 switch from Boro

Three-time Premier League winning centre-back Robert Huth is probably best remembered in his playing days for his key role in Leicester City's shock 2016 top-flight triumph, but midlands rivals Stoke City were actually the club who he played the most games for in his career.

Huth had been a bit-part player in the early stages of his career at Chelsea, but managed to establish himself more in the Premier League with Middlesbrough, after making the switch to Teesside in 2006.

He was a part of the Boro side that suffered relegation in 2009, though, and played in the Championship for four games before making a late August move to Stoke for a club-record fee of £5 million, rising to £6 million, on a four-and-a-half year deal.

Huth was a match made in heaven with then Potters boss Tony Pulis, as his gritty, no-nonsense performances at the heart of Stoke's backline made him a fan-favourite in the Potteries over numerous years to come.

He formed a strong partnership with club legend Ryan Shawcross in his time in ST4, and the pair are still widely thought of as one of the best centre-back duos in Potters history.

Huth eventually left Stoke permanently in 2015, and while he went on to achieve an amazing feat with the Foxes, his time in North Staffordshire is still revered as a huge success, due to the commanding role that he played in helping establish the Potters in the top-flight.

Robert Huth became a Stoke hero after his £5m move from Middlesbrough

Berlin-born Huth was a mean defender, in that he was not afraid to put his head where it hurts to earn his team success, and it was those kinds of traits that meant hard-line Potters boss Pulis was happy to let the club part with a record fee to bring him to the Britannia Stadium.

The German international was never one to shy out of a tackle, and often played through the pain barrier to service his side, with just 16 league games missed in his first four seasons at Stoke, as he quickly became one of the first names on the teamsheet beside Shawcross in the back four.

He often displayed his versatility with the Potters too, with a large part of his first season at the club spent at either left or right-back, and his leadership was soon recognised by boss Pulis, who offered him the captain's armband in a cup game against former side Chelsea in his first season at the club.

Huth scored nine goals in 44 appearances in the 2010/11 campaign, and played in all but one game of the Potters' iconic run to the FA Cup final in 2011, and even netted in the quarter-final against West Ham, then bagged the second in their 5-0 semi-final demolition of Bolton Wanderers.

His top performances saw him offered a new three-year contract in 2012, and he remained a regular under new manager Mark Hughes at the start of 2013/14, before a knee injury in November 2013 saw him ruled out for the rest of that season.

He suffered a reoccurence of his knee injury in the next season, and was only able to feature four more times for the Potters, with his last game for the club coming against Arsenal in December 2014, as he made a loan switch to Leicester in January 2015.

Huth left Stoke permanently that same summer, with nearly 200 appearances to his name in red and white, and plenty of good times and good memories left in the Potteries.

Robert Huth believes his best football was played at Stoke

Huth is one of just 16 players to have won the Premier League with two different clubs, yet his time at Stoke was special for a different reason, as he spent the prime of his career in the Potteries and helped the club in some of the best seasons in their history.

His connection with the club has continued into retirement, and his 2022 interview with local outlet StokeonTrentLive saw him reflect on his six years in ST4, as he alluded to his time at Stoke being his best years in the game.

He said: “It was tough, certainly tough under Tony (Pulis), let’s just say that.

“It worked for me though. I am very similar to Tony in some ways, I am very black and white and say things how they are – he was exactly the same and it just worked.

“I personally believe that he got me playing the best football of my career at Stoke if I am being perfectly honest, and that tells you a lot.

“Physically, I was in an incredible place – without doubt the best shape I have ever been in, I was even cycling in to training every day.

“Barring the odd suspension, I played pretty much every game – even the odd one or two at right-back too, although I am not sure what he was thinking there. I didn’t even know how to take a throw-in, let alone play as full-back.

“It was a great time for me though, especially after being moved into the middle. I loved it, we had a very good side, we were strong, incredibly tough and we had a lot of quality that maybe didn’t get the recognition it deserved.

“We were strong in the league, we had a great run in the FA Cup, thrashed Bolton in the semi-final and did pretty well in the Europa League too, so I really look back on my time at Stoke in a really positive manner.”

Huth also admitted that he knew his "time was up" with Stoke, but his exit was "amicable," which is how Potters fans will have wanted his spell to end after all those years of stellar service to the club.

Stoke tried to repeat the Germany centre-back trick with the likes of Philipp Wollscheid and Kevin Wimmer in the years after Huth's departure, but neither came close to replicating his impact in the Potteries, and not many centre-backs have come near to his stature at the club in recent years, which is testament to just how successful his 2009 move really was.