Stoke City must plot bold West Brom transfer if Sorba Thomas leaves | OneFootball

Stoke City should prepare a move for West Bromwich Albion's Mikey Johnston in case of Sorba Thomas' departure

Stoke City’s summer window has slowed down over the past month or so, as Mark Robins has taken time to assess his squad for the upcoming campaign and which areas need addressing before the window slams shut on September 1st.

Five new faces have arrived through the doors in North Staffordshire, including Joshua Griffiths, Djibril Soumare, Svante Ingelsson, Ethan Galbraith, and Luke Graham. But business doesn’t look to be done just yet.

Stoke have reportedly agreed a fee worth a potential £3.5 million for Ipswich Town right-back Harry Clarke, with the 24-year-old appearing to be on the cusp of returning to the Potters, having spent the first half of the 2022/23 season on loan from Arsenal.

Clarke’s Ipswich teammate, George Hirst, has also been the subject of interest from the Potters, with Alan Nixon reporting via Patreon that Robins’ side could be willing to pay upwards of £10 million for the Scottish striker this summer.

Stoke haven’t been afraid to splash the cash this summer following their £10 million purchase of Galbraith from Swansea City, though they should leave some money aside in case they need to replace one of their star assets.

Stoke City should target West Bromwich Albion’s Mikey Johnston this summer in case of Sorba Thomas’ exit

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Stoke winger Sorba Thomas has been the subject of interest from West Ham United in recent weeks, as per ExWHUEmployee’s Patreon, and further confirmed by Alan Nixon.

Thomas, 27, enjoyed the best personal year of his career with the Potters last time around, scoring ten and assisting 11 in 45 Championship games for the Potters following his move from Huddersfield Town for a fee believed to have been less than £2 million.

The Welsh international has two years remaining on his deal at the bet365 Stadium, and has previously denied commenting regarding his future at the club, with an exit still a real possibility this summer, especially if West Ham ramp up their interest in their former academy player.

In case of his exit, Robins must be prepared to sign an alternative, and should consider a move for West Bromwich Albion’s Irish winger Mikey Johnston.

Johnston, 27, like Thomas, is best utilised on the left flank, where he can cut in on his favoured right foot, having made 34 appearances for the Baggies in the Championship last season, scoring twice and assisting nine.

Had it not been for a stress fracture to his ankle sustained in February, the Irish international likely would have featured in nearly all of Albion’s games last season, and now looks to have returned to fitness, featuring for James Morrison’s side in pre-season.

Why Mikey Johnston would be an ideal replacement for Sorba Thomas at Stoke City

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Johnston, who came through the academy at Celtic before loan spells with Vitoria de Guimaraes and West Brom preceded his £3 million permanent switch to the Black Country in 2024, very nearly joined Brazilian side Flamengo last summer for around £5 million, but the move fell through due to fan backlash in Rio de Janeiro.

The 27-year-old has gone on to score 12 and grab 16 assists in 98 games for the Baggies across all competitions in two-and-a-half years for the club, and could be the perfect replacement for Thomas in the Potteries.

Last season, according to FotMob, Johnston grabbed nine assists from an expected assist return of 7.59, created 56 chances, and landed 50 successful crosses. However, Thomas blows him out of the water in each category; as per FotMob, Thomas assisted 11 goals from an expected assist return of 9.84, created 90 chances, and completed 79 crosses.

Where Johnston has the edge on Thomas is his dribbling ability, completing 57 successful dribbles last campaign compared to Thomas' 38, though the Welshman did play 11 more league games than the Irishman, and if Johnston had a full season, his stats may have looked even better.

From the stats, we can gather that Johnston is much more comfortable and less direct than Thomas, who prefers to launch crosses in the box whenever the opportunity arises, as opposed to taking on his man.

If Stoke can agree a sensible fee for the Irishman, whose contract expires in the summer of 2028, he could be an ideal replacement for Thomas, who, by all accounts, Robins will be hoping to keep hold of.

Mark Robins must have a replacement lined up in case of Sorba Thomas' exit and must consider Mikey Johnston as an option

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Robins will have few intentions on allowing Thomas to leave Stoke this summer.

The 27-year-old was their star performer last season, predominantly utilised off the left flank but on occasion as a wing-back or right-back, and replacing him like-for-like would be a near impossible task.

Johnston would be an ideal fit in the Potteries, though whether Baggies head coach James Morrison would be willing to part ways with the Irishman after losing each of Karlan Grant, Josh Maja, Daryl Dike, and Jed Wallace already remains to be seen, but Robins should try his luck nevertheless, and have a deal for the former Celtic star lined up just in case.