Stoke City transfer latest: Ben Gibson deal, £4.3m Celtic & Coventry race, interest in Korean star

FLW rounds up all the latest transfer news from the bet365 Stadium

Stoke City face a big summer of clear-outs and wise transfer decisions as they look to finally push on in the Championship.

Steven Schumacher is heading into his first summer as Potters boss and has decided to release several first-team players such as Tyrese Campbell, Wesley, Ciaran Clark, Tom Edwards and D’Margio Wright-Phillips, while retaining the services of Jordan Thompson and Enda Stevens for another year.

Stoke have already been busy in the transfer market, signing standout Rotherham United goalkeeper Viktor Johansson on a three-year deal for a reported fee of around £1m on May 18.

There have been changes off the pitch too, with Lee Darnbrough appointed as their new head of recruitment after departing an equivalent role at Hull City following seven years with the Tigers.

Schumacher joined the Potters from Plymouth Argyle in December, after Alex Neil was sacked, and had a mixed first six months at the bet365 Stadium, but ultimately led his side to Championship safety with a game to spare.

Stoke have not finished in the top half of the second tier since relegation from the Premier League in 2018, so that will be the 40-year-old’s primary aim going into the 2024/25 season.

The Potters have a good blend of youth and experience in their squad, but there will still be plenty of incomings and outgoings this summer, and with that in mind, Football League World outlines the latest transfer news coming out of the Potteries.

Stoke eye Ben Gibson swoop

Norwich City centre-back Ben Gibson is set to become Stoke’s second signing of the summer, according to TeamTalk.

Gibson is set to become a free agent upon the expiration of his Canaries contract and it is said that Stoke are “right at the head of the queue” to win the race for the 31-year-old’s signature.

Gibson joined Norwich on loan in 2020 and played a key role in the Canaries side that won the Championship title in his debut season, with his move then made permanent for a fee believed to be around £8m.

He made 37 appearances for the Carrow Road club this past season, and Stoke are hoping to fend off “strong rival interest from the United States” to capture his signing, according to StokeOnTrentLive.

Stoke have joined the queue for Alyvn Sanches

The Express has reported that Stoke are ‘keeping a close eye’ on FC Lausanne-Sport midfielder Alvyn Sanches.

21-year-old Sanches is rated at £4.3m by the Swiss club, but the Potters reportedly face competition for his signature from Celtic, Coventry City, and a raft of teams in Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Sanches is highly rated in Switzerland and has been on Lausanne’s books for over a decade, making 84 appearances for their senior team so far and helping them to promotion back to the Swiss Super League in 2022/23.

Yang Min-hyuk on Stoke’s radar

According to South Korean journalist panel Dalsune Live, translated by Joel Kim, an official Stoke scout was present at Gangwon FC’s 2-1 win over Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on May 29 to watch teenage winger Yang Min-hyuk.

18-year-old Min-hyuk is one of the jewels of Korea’s new generation of players and joined the Gangwon senior team in January after impressing in their youth set-up.

He has registered four goals and three assists in 16 games so far this season, becoming both Gangwon and the K League 1’s youngest-ever goalscorer in the process.

Stoke are no strangers to scouting in the Korean market after winger Bae Jun-ho joined from Daejeon Citizen last summer and picked up the club’s Player of the Season award for his impressive 2023/24 performances.