Mark Robins has a Stoke City dilemma to solve - €4m man is facing Potters struggle | OneFootball

Tomas Rigo has struggled to nail down a place at Stoke City since his €4 million move from Banik Ostrava this summer

Tomas Rigo signed for Stoke City this summer in a seven-figure deal from Czech side Banik Ostrava, yet has struggled to assert himself in the starting 11 under former Coventry City boss Mark Robins.

The Potters barely scraped survival last season in the EFL Championship, with head coach Mark Robins replacing the outgoing Narcis Pelach in January 2025, securing important wins against each of Blackburn Rovers, Hull City, and Cardiff City in the latter stages of the campaign to secure their place in the second tier for another season.

The Potters have yet to finish above 14th since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018, despite the heavy investment made into the club by their owners, the Coates family.

However, this season Stoke stand a real chance of finally bucking that trend, sitting in 7th place after 21 games, with the play-off places well within their reach.

They had spent much of the season inside the top six positions, but five losses in their last six prior to their 2-1 home win over Swansea City at the weekend have seen them drop beneath the upper quarter of the division for the first time this campaign.

Robins made numerous new additions to his side in the summer, including the likes of Maksym Talovierov, Divin Mubama, Steven Nzonzi, Aaron Cresswell, and Sorba Thomas, the latter of whom has propelled his game to a new level.

Though their most expensive addition was the €4 million capture of Slovakian international midfielder Tomas Rigo from Czech side Banik Ostrava.

Having courted him for well over a month, there were high expectations following his arrival that he would be a mainstay in Stoke's midfield, but so far, that hasn't quite been the case.

Since arriving in the Potteries, Rigo has yet to nail down a place in the Stoke side.

The Slovakian started six of his opening seven available fixtures with the Potters, but has started just two of the following ten games in the Championship.

Robins has the likes of Ben Pearson, Tatsuki Seko, Steven Nzonzi, Lewis Baker, and Bosun Lawal to all compete with for a place in the midfield, and has seen himself drop in the pecking order as a result.

Though it is still early days, and on a four-year contract at just 23 years old, alarm bells won't yet be ringing for Rigo, as he continues to adapt to life in the English second tier.

In his most recent start, Stoke's 4-0 thumping away at Sheffield United, Rigo was substituted off at half-time with the score at 3-0, with Ashley Phillips replacing him as Bosun Lawal moved into midfield.

Stoke as a collective were pitiful on the day, in what was comfortably their worst performance of the season, and it would be unfair to single out Rigo for criticism.

Though many would have expected more from the Slovakian at this stage, and with the January window approaching, Robins has a big decision to make in his midfield selection.

The Championship games continue to come thick and fast, as each side's squads' resilience is tested, with numerous enforced changes having to be made around this busy period.

Pearson and Seko have more often than not been Robins' preferred midfield two, sitting behind the front four, with Pearson breaking up play and winning the ball back, whilst Seko drops deep before looking to progress the ball up the pitch.

Goals from that midfield area have been hard to come by, especially without Baker in that position, as Pearson netted his first goal in six years in Stoke's 2-1 win over Swansea at the weekend, which was incidentally his first shot of the season and his first goal for the club, whilst Seko has yet to score for the Potters.

Goals from the deeper midfield two have been one of the factors that have kept Stoke and many other sides in the division from runaway leaders Coventry City, who have the likes of Victor Torp, who has been contributing heavily from a deeper role.

Incidentally, Robins was the one who signed Torp for Coventry, and he will be hoping that, in time, he can produce similar numbers from Rigo.

Nevertheless, the Potters have come on leaps and bounds since last season, and look a more dangerous outfit going forward, whilst maintaining the best defensive record in the division, having conceded just 20 goals in 21 matches, despite conceding eight in their last four outings.

Rigo will likely improve the longer he is at Stoke, and although he has had a spell out of the side, the €4 million that Stoke parted ways with for the Slovakian will not have been done without thorough planning and the belief that he will come good.