Stoke City: Mark Robins will be searching for individual’s 2024 repeat after Swansea City spark | OneFootball

Bae Jun-ho's season could come to life once again after his first goal of the campaign in February

Stoke City winger Bae Jun-ho has struggled to make much of an impact so far this term in red and white, but much like his debut season, his first goal of the campaign came in February, which will leave Potters fans and boss Mark Robins hoping it is the catalyst for him to kick on and become a key player again.

Jun-ho joined Stoke from K-League outfit Daejon Hana Citizen in August 2023, arriving in the Potteries as a relative unknown on a four-year deal for a reported fee of around £2m amid a flurry of incomings that summer.

He has since become an important player for the Potters off the left wing or in attacking midfield but did struggle to initially adapt to English football under both Alex Neil and Steven Schumacher.

The 21-year-old eventually went on to win Stoke's Player of the Year award at the end of his debut campaign, after some standout performances in the second half of the season but has again found it tough to impact games this term. The Potters have chopped and changed managers and he has likely suffered burnout from playing so many games for both club and country.

But there are green shoots. He popped up his first goal of the season over the weekend against Swansea City to give Robins' side the lead in what would become a vital win. The Stoke boss will hope that lightning is set to strike twice and Jun-ho will now be able to repeat his 2024 heroics in the coming months after the decisive finish.

Bae Jun-ho became a key man for Stoke after a slow start

Jun-ho was largely limited to substitute appearances last season upon arrival under Alex Neil, but after he was sacked in December, he began to force his way into the starting eleven under Schumacher.

He netted his first goal for the club against Cardiff City on February 24, then followed that up with a cool solo opener a week later in a key victory at home to Middlesbrough as Stoke battled against the drop. It was from then on that he became a huge asset to the club's survival bid.

He played a crucial role in the second half of the campaign, and especially in the season's run-in, as Schumacher's side lost just once in the last eight games of the season to avoid relegation.

Jun-ho soon crowned his fantastic debut season by winning the club's Player of the Year award, as voted by the fans, while ending the campaign with two goals and six assists in 40 games in all competitions.

The South Korean international's strong form with the Potters saw reports of clubs in the Bundesliga and Serie A being alerted to his transfer situation, while three Premier League sides were also stated to be monitoring his progress, and Dutch outlet 1908.nl also revealed that Feyenoord were interested in securing his signature.

Fulham were also claimed to be admirers of the winger after his breakout season in the Championship, but a report from StokeOnTrentLive in July stated that there were no plans for Stoke to sell him, barring an incredible offer, with his contract not up for another three years and the Potters in no rush to sell.

Jun-ho's heroics against Swansea could see his season spark into life once again

Despite the strong transfer interest from elsewhere in the summer, it always seemed likely that Jun-ho was set to stay in ST4, but his inconsistent form this term has left Potters fans bemused and wondering if the club should have let him leave for a sizeable fee if one was to be offered.

Much like most of the squad, he has been the victim of Stoke's numerous managerial changes, which sees Robins as their third man at the helm this season, as well as burnout from too many minutes at such a high level compared to the K-League, and also being played out of position at right-wing.

He was yet to score this term prior to Saturday's huge match-up at the bet365 Stadium against the Swans, and for much of the game, it looked as if that was set to continue, before Robins took Lewis Koumas off and switched Jun-ho to his preferred left side with the visitors in the lead.

The 21-year-old almost immediately sprung into life, and it was him who drew the foul for Lewis Baker to deliver onto Wouter Burger's head to level proceedings, before he repeated the trick in a similar area eight minutes later, and was on the end of Million Manhoef's chipped free-kick to deftly flick the Potters into an important lead.

Jun-ho celebrated his long-awaited strike with clear emotion as the weight of his goalless run was lifted off his shoulders, and his goal did prove decisive as Stoke soon clinched the game in the dying embers with a Baker wonder strike from his own half.

It was Baker's goal that grabbed the headlines in the immediate aftermath of the 3-1 victory on home turf, but the re-emergence of Jun-ho could be what matters most to the Potters and boss Robins in the weeks and months to come.

The Stoke manager admitted in his post-match interviews that the 21-year-old had played "really, really good," and had taught him something with his performance on the left wing compared to the right.

His situation this season has been very similar to the last, and everyone connected with the Potters will hope that another February goal is what it takes to kick-start his campaign this time around once again. Stoke need their players to step up as they look to pull away from the bottom three, and Jun-ho's star turn against the Swans could be the catalyst for more success in the coming months.