Huddersfield Town must always thank Stoke City despite Ramadan Sobhi disaster | OneFootball

The likes of Ramadan Sobhi, Tom Ince, and Tommy Smith have transferred between Huddersfield Town and Stoke City in recent years

Huddersfield Town and Stoke City have had numerous players swap between the two clubs in recent years, with almost every move turning out to be a complete disaster.

Following the completion of the 2017/18 season, Huddersfield Town had secured an unlikely survival in the Premier League under German head coach David Wagner, whilst Stoke City's decade-long spell in the top-flight came to a miserable end.

Whilst Stoke were preparing for life back in the Championship, with a push for promotion the minimum aim, Huddersfield were looking to establish themselves as Premier League regulars after their survival.

Egyptian winger Ramadan Sobhi swapped the Potteries for West Yorkshire in a deal worth £5.7 million in June 2018, whilst Tom Ince, son of former Man United & Liverpool man Paul, headed in the opposite direction, signing for Stoke for £12 million, in what was seen as good pieces of business for both clubs.

Sobhi, fresh off the back of two seasons in the Premier League, scoring twice in 41 total appearances, headed to the Terriers for a fresh start, whilst Ince, having scored twice in 33 Premier League appearances the previous season, returned to the Championship, where he had thrived for Blackpool and Derby County in years prior.

However, neither deal would go to plan, as both clubs would ultimately regret the swap.

Ramadan Sobhi and Tom Ince failed to make the desired impact at Huddersfield Town and Stoke City

Upon his return to the Premier League with Huddersfield, it was hoped that Sobhi would add some flair and trickery to the Terriers' wide attacking areas, having shown glimpses of his ability with Stoke.

He'd remain on the bench for the season-opening defeat at home to Chelsea, and following a six-minute cameo in Huddersfield's 6-1 away defeat to Manchester City, a knee injury ruled him out for the next two months.

The Egyptian would make just four league appearances for Huddersfield that season, accumulating a total of just 75 minutes of league football for the West Yorkshire outfit before returning to his native Egypt with Al Ahly in January 2018.

Huddersfield were relegated rock-bottom on just 16 points, and have not played Premier League football ever since, with Sobhi finally leaving the club permanently in the summer of 2020 to join Pyramids FC, and has since been banned from the sport for four years for use of an illegal substance.

Ince, on the other hand, whilst he played substantially more for Stoke than Sobhi did for Huddersfield, also failed to make the desired impact in the Potteries.

The winger, renowned for his wand of a left foot during his time with Blackpool and Derby, linked back up with former boss Gary Rowett at Stoke, but his impact fell far from expectations.

In four seasons contracted to the club, Ince made 103 appearances for Stoke across all competitions, scoring 14 and assisting 12, spending time on loan with Luton Town and then Reading before his contract expired.

As Sobhi did with Huddersfield, Ince left Stoke for nothing, with the club never recouping any of the hefty fee they had paid for him just years prior.

Stoke have remained in the Championship ever since, consistently dwindling in the lower reaches of the division, whilst Huddersfield have fallen into the depths of League One.

Both deals went far from planned, and you would do well to find a winner between the two as to who got the best deal.

Huddersfield Town may feel as though they had the last laugh in Stoke City transfer dealings

Indeed, whilst the deal to sign Sobhi proved to be a catastrophic piece of business, he was not the sole reason for Huddersfield's relegation to the Championship.

They'd never recoup the £5.7 million they paid for him, though, with Stoke handing them £12 million for Ince and then a further £4 million for right-back Tommy Smith just a year later, the Terriers certainly saw more coming in than what went out in the dealings between the sides.

Smith played a crucial role in the Terriers' rise to the top flight, and continued to be a steady operator at right-back for Stoke in the Championship, though he would struggle to really justify the fee Stoke paid for him.

Stoke may sense they have had some revenge as of late by signing Sorba Thomas from Huddersfield during the summer, who has proven to be an excellent piece of business by the Potters, though they will always live to regret their previous dealings.