Stoke City

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Lucas Yeomans and Matt Sandoz are joined by former Stoke City defender Gareth Owen to chat new signings, pre-season preparations and Nathan Lowe's loan to Hibernian.

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Image source, Hibernian FC

Nathan Lowe believes in setting himself high targets - and the striker is aiming to be the Scottish Premiership's top scorer at the end of his season on loan to Hibernian from Stoke City.

Only 20, the Englishman describes himself as "an old head on young shoulders" and is not making any promises to fans he realises would have been disappointed with last season's fifth-place finish.

But he told Hibs TV: "One thing about me, you can say what you want, but I will be in the area to score goals because that's the only reason I play football.

"That's what gets me up every morning to go and train.

"I don't think I could be a right-back or left-back or anything like that - I was born to be a striker."

Lowe scored 18 goals in half a season on loan to League Two's Walsall, then seven in half a season with Stockport County in League One and four to finish off last season with Wycombe Wanderers, also in England's third tier.

"By no means am I the finished article and I won't be at the end of this loan," he admitted.

"But every season I go into, my aim is to be the top goalscorer in the league.

"At Walsall, I was. Last season, not so much. Hopefully I can add to my tally significantly here."

Lowe was attracted to "a new challenge" of playing different teams and experiencing European football with Hibs.

"Hibs' aim should be third or higher and there's no reason why we can't do that and a good run in Europe and the cup competitions," he added.

Image source, Getty Images

Hibernian have signed Nathan Lowe on a season-long loan from Stoke City, with head coach David Gray saying the forward was the "physical presence" and "natural goalscorer" he had been seeking.

The 20-year-old England Under-19 cap came through the Championship club's youth ranks and has already had loan spells with Walsall, Stockport County and Wycombe Wanderers.

Lowe made his senior debut in February 2023, signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Stoke the following January and has agreed an extension until 2029 to coincide with his loan to the Scottish Premiership.

He has made eight starts and 21 substitute appearances for Stoke, scoring twice, but it was with Walsall in League Two where he was most prolific, scoring 18 goals and providing seven assists in 30 appearances as he earned the English League Two Young Player of the Year Award.

Last season, he scored 11 as he spent the first half of the season with Stockport and the second with League One rivals Wycombe.

"He brings a great energy and enthusiasm about his play, as well as a physical presence," Gray told his club website.

"He is a natural goalscorer and he has proven that he can score a range of different types of goals.

"He has good experience too, having already played a substantial amount of games at a competitive level despite his young age."

Stoke sporting director Jonathan Walters told his club website: "Nathan has no doubt benefitted from the experiences he's had in Leagues One and Two and it speaks to his mature character that he wants to test himself in a new environment in Scotland.

"That he will also gain exposure to playing in European competition is something new and will only help his development.

"We will keep a close eye on his progression."

Stoke and South Korea midfielder Bae Junho, 22, is a target for Ligue 1 side Lyon, with just a year left on his contract. (FootMercato - In French, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Tuesday's gossip column here.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Stoke City players Erik Pieters and Danny Pugh have returned to the Championship club to take coaching roles in the academy.

Pieters, 37, made more than 200 appearances during a six-year stay with the Potters between 2013 and 2019.

The former Netherlands international has been appointed as a professional development coach, while the defender will also be available as an overage player for the under-21 team.

Pugh initially joined Stoke on loan from Preston in 2007 before making the move permanent for £500,000 in January 2008.

The 43-year-old will help to coach the under-18s, having previously held the same position between 2021 and 2023.

Academy Director Jack Higgins said: "In Erik and Danny, we are adding two people with strong links to the football club to our professional development phase staff."

Image source, Getty Images

Forest Green Rovers have signed defender Sydney Agina on loan until January from Championship side Stoke.

The 18-year-old academy player has also agreed a new two-year contract extension to stay with the Potters.

Agina made five league appearances for Stoke in the closing stages of last season and also earned his first international cap for Kenya in a friendly last month.

"We believe further exposure to first-team football at a good level, on a consistent basis, is the logical next step for him to take," said Stoke director of football Jonathan Walters.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says Stoke City are utilising the Championship's new squad spending rules to rebuild this summer.

The Potters have so far brought in Ethan Galbraith, Svante Ingelsson, Djibril Soumare and Luke Graham, as well as making Milan Smit's move permanent, for a reported combined total of about £21m.

They have also signed West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Josh Griffiths for an undisclosed fee, with the influx of arrivals coming after sporting director Jonathan Walters promised "multiple signings".

Squad Cost Rules (SCR) replaced profit and sustainability in the second tier for the 2026-27 season onwards, allowing clubs to spend 85% of their income on players and managers.

Previously, teams were limited to losses of £39m across a three-year period.

Stoke were one of just three Championship clubs to record a profit in 2024-25, but only did so because a £90m loan was waived by new owner John Coates to offset what otherwise would have been a £29m loss.

Owners are now also allowed to inject up to £33m into their club over three years, providing they do not top up the kitty by more than £15m per season.

"I think it gives clubs a little bit more leeway and that's provided the owner is willing to provide that funding," Maguire told BBC Radio Stoke.

"If you take a look at the commercial income for Stoke City, it's about half of the total the club generates, which is higher than that of many of the peer group that Stoke have in the Championship. So that will benefit the club.

"And also there's no doubt the Coates family, who have been amazingly beneficial owners, will continue to do that."

Maguire explained that transfer payments are also often broken down into instalments, with only the money spent in any given season taken into consideration by the EFL as a "cash management based approach".

"Let's say that you are paying £5m for a player but you're spreading that as perhaps £2m this year, £2m in another year and £1m as a final payment," he added.

"Only £2m of that will go into your calculations [for 2026-27], therefore the small print of transfers does allow smart negotiation by clubs to put them in a beneficial position as far as these SCR rules are concerned."

Image source, Shutterstock

Serbian forward Nikola Jojic has left Stoke City by mutual consent.

The 22-year-old joined the Potters on a four-year deal in 2023 but made only one league appearance, coming on as a substitute in a 2-0 Championship defeat by Preston in September the same year.

Jojic spent last season on loan at Slovenian club NK Radomlje and has also had spells with Mladost Lucani in Serbia and HNK Gorica in Croatia.

He leaves Stoke having only added a Carabao Cup substitute appearance in a 6-1 win over Rotherham, also in 2023, to his tally at the bet365 Stadium.

Stoke City are interested in signing striker Daniel Karlsbakk from Norwegian top flight club Sarpsborg 08. The 23-year-old has scored 24 goals in 44 Eliteserien games since moving from Heerenveen. (Pete O'Rourke), external

You can find more of Tuesday's EFL gossip here.

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves striker Raul Jimenez scored during Mexico's victory over Ecuador on Wednesday to set up a potential last-16 tie with England at the World Cup.

The 35-year-old doubled the host nation's lead by finding the top corner during the 2-0 win and Maxico will now face either the Three Lions or DR Congo on Monday at 01:00 BST for a place in the quarter-finals.

Wanderers team-mate David Moller Wolfe also secured a place in the last 16 after starting the match for Norway in their 2-1 win over Ivory Coast.

The defender will be joined by Egil Selvik of Watford and Derby County's Sondre Langas as the Norwegians head to New Jersey to play Brazil on Sunday at 21:00 BST.

However, there are some English Football League players who will not be continuing to feature in the tournament after yesterday's results.

Rams stopper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom was between the sticks for Sweden's knockout match against France on Tuesday but they succumbed to a 3-0 loss.

Stoke City keeper Viktor Johansson and Burnley defender Hjalmar Ekdal also return home following Sweden's loss without any tournament minutes under their belt.

Image source, Getty Images

We have reached the knock-out rounds of the World Cup but there are still plenty of players from the English Football League representing their country.

Here is where you can watch them in the round of 32:

Sunday, 28 June

• Lyle Foster, Burnley - South Africa v Canada (20:00 BST)

• Alfie Jones, Middlesbrough - South Africa v Canada (20:00 BST)

• Ali Ahmed, Norwich City - South Africa v Canada (20:00 BST)

• Cyle Larin, Southampton - South Africa v Canada (20:00 BST)

Tuesday, 30 June

• Crysencio Summerville, West Ham - Netherlands v Morocco (02:00 BST)

• Sondre Langas, Derby County - Ivory Coast v Norway (18:00 BST)

• Egil Selvik, Watford - Ivory Coast v Norway (18:00 BST)

• David Moller Wolfe, Wolves - Ivory Coast v Norway (18:00 BST)

• Hjalmar Ekdal, Burnley - France v Sweden (22:00 BST)

• Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, Derby County - France v Sweden (22:00 BST)

• Viktor Johansson, Stoke City - France v Sweden (22:00 BST)

Wednesday, 1 July

• Edson Alvarez, West Ham - Mexico v Ecuador (02:00 BST)

• Raul Jimenez, Wolves - Mexico v Ecuador (02:00 BST)

• Axel Tuanzebe, Burnley - England v DR Congo (17:00 BST)

• Edo Kayembe, Watford - England v DR Congo (17:00 BST)

• Aaron Wan-Bissaka, West Ham - England v DR Congo (17:00 BST)

• El-Hadji Malick Diouf, West Ham - Belgium v Senegal (21:00 BST)

Friday, 3 July

• Jose Sa, Wolves - Portugal v Croatia (00:00 BST)

• Zeki Amdouni, Burnley - Switzerland v Algeria (04:00 BST)

• Harry Souttar, Leicester City - Australia v Egypt (19:00 BST)

• Mohamed Toure, Norwich City - Australia v Egypt (19:00 BST)

• Cameron Burgess, Swansea City - Australia v Egypt (19:00 BST)

• Nestory Irankunda, Watford - Australia v Egypt (19:00 BST)

Saturday, 4 July

• Abdul Fatawu, Leicester City, Colombia v Ghana (02:30 BST)

Image source, Stoke City

Stoke City have appointed Jack Higgins as the club's new academy director.

The 34-year-old is a former head of education at Burnley and joins the Potters after spending the past six years as manager of the academy at League Two Fleetwood Town.

In his time with the Cod Army, Higgins oversaw the development of their academy to Category Two status in 2023.

Stoke sporting director Jonathan Walters said Higgins' experience of "building productive environments, developing players and connecting academy and first-team football" made him the "ideal person" for the job.

"Over the last few months, we have taken time to look closely at our academy structure and how we can better support the development of young players throughout the club," Walters added.

"We all recognise that the step from academy football to first-team football has become increasingly challenging in the modern game.

"Our responsibility is to make that pathway as clear and consistent as possible."

The club have also announced Sam Stockley will become head of professional development phase and take charge of the under-21 side.

Stockley has been with Stoke for the past year having spent 14 years working in youth football in the USA.

The EFL fixture list is out and we know you are bursting to know what you've got to look forward to - or dread - from your team this upcoming season.

Here are some key dates to put in your diary:

• 15 August 2026 - Swansea City (H)

• 22 August 2026 - Southampton (A)

• 26 December 2026 - Wrexham (H)

• 1 January 2027 - West Bromwich Albion (A)

• 1 May 2027 - Millwall (A)

See Stoke City's full fixture list here.