Exciting Portuguese winger André Vidigal was signed by Stoke City from Portuguese club Marítimo under Alex Neil in the summer transfer window, but after a scintillating start to life in the Potteries, his form has since tailed off.
Vidigal signed a three-year deal for Stoke, with his transfer fee reported to be somewhere in the region of €500,000, according to the Portuguese outlet Record.
Despite a positive 2022/23 season in the Portuguese top-flight, where the winger scored eight goals in 32 appearances, according to statistics from Sofascore, he was unable to save Marítimo from relegation to the Portuguese second-tier via the relegation play-offs.
In a press release announcing the signing of the player, Stoke’s technical director at the time, Ricky Martin, said: “Andre is an exciting player who carries a constant attacking threat, and is therefore someone we feel will entertain our fans as well as helping us secure results on the field.”
He followed this up by coming off the bench to score the winning goal against West Bromwich Albion in the first round of the EFL Cup.
However, after five goals in his first six appearances for the Potters, the 25-year-old’s form tailed off, and so has the form of his team; it’s been puzzling on both parts, although a change in the dugout might not have particularly helped.
Scottish manager Alex Neil was sacked in December after four straight losses which saw Stoke slump to 20th place in the EFL Championship table. Former Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher replaced him.
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