05-31-2023, 10:51 AM
Many Stoke fans will have been surprised this afternoon by the news that Birmingham right-back Stephen Kelly has joined Fulham on a three year Denny Mclain Jersey contract for an undisclosed fee. The 25 year old had spent the second half of last season on loan with the Potters and was widely tipped to be Tony Puliss first signing of this summer, with the Stoke manager reportedly lining up a 1 million bid for the Irish international. If he was a target for Pulis, as it seems he was, we will now look elsewhere in our bid to strengthen the position, with Andy Wilkinson set to be the only senior right-back in our squad, as club captain Andy Griffin will soon leave the Britannia Stadium.Kelly now a Fulham player For me, this is mixed news. Ive always been indifferent to Kelly. He never did much to Niko Goodrum Jersey impre s during his six appearances for Stoke, but I believe that he does have the ability to be a useful Premier League player, as we saw from his excellent 2007/08 season at Birmingham, when he was the only outfield player in the league to play every minute of all 38 matches. Im also a big fan of Wilkinson, and would love to see him cement himself further as our first-choice right-back next season, and with the signing of Kelly now out of the question, it is more likely that he Spencer Turnbull Jersey will deservedly retain his place. If we are to bring in a right-back, there are also others out there, who are realistic targets that I would far rather tried to bring in. In Puliss position I would make put Newcastles Habib Beye at the top of my list. After their hilarious relegation, the Magpies will be willing to listen to offers for almost all their players, and signing a player like Beye is definitely no longer beyond our budget or means. Hes also Senegalese, and our links with the country could help to persuade him to the area. Lets face it, if Abdoulaye Faye told you to move to Stoke, you JaCoby Jones Jersey d do it.Our search for a right-backmay now be back on This promises to be an eventful summer on the transfer front for the Potters, but I think that in the excitemnt that rumours of potential new signings brings it is important that we do not forget Wilkinson. For me, and I know for many others, he was one of the stand-out players of our first Premier League campaign Blank Jersey , and has shown that he is very bit the capable top flight player. Some people may be disappointed by lack of signings by the end of August, but if we do not add another right-back by then, meaning Wilkinson will spend another season as first-choice, that can only be a good thing.