Stoke City new signing reveals which player convinced him to join the club | OneFootball

Stoke City’s Josh Laurent has opened up about his switch to the Potters after opting to leave Reading following the expiration of his contract.

Laurent joined the Staffordshire club on a three-year contract after having a big say in Reading’s Championship survival last season and will be hoping to continue his form at Stoke.

Laurent spent two years with Reading, forming a formidable partnership with Andy Rinomhota, and will be hoping to do the same with Lewis Baker, who he played with at Chelsea as a youngster.

Speaking to the Stoke Sentinel, it wasn’t Baker who convinced Laurent to join Stoke, but surprisingly Tyrese Campbell who had a loan spell at Shrewsbury Town along with Laurent in 2019.

When asked about his relationship with Campbell, the former Reading midfielder said: “I’ve actually been speaking to Tye about Stoke for about a year.

“I’ve been speaking to him on and off and when I told him I’d been speaking to the club. He always had good things to say and kept telling me to come.

“It’s nice. He’s another big character and infectious with his personality. He’s very happy and that’s what I like. I like to be around happy people because I like to think of myself as a happy person as well.”

It’s a transfer that was seemingly in the works since last season with Tyrese Campbell proving to be a successful salesman for Stoke City.

The transfer was a coup for the Potters to bring in Laurent who is flexible in the roles he can play in midfield which will give Michael O’Neill plenty of options.

It also fills a huge hole that Joe Allen has left and is arguably an upgrade on the 32-year-old Welsh international.

With Laurent holding Premier League ambitions, he will need to hit the same form he’s displayed at Reading for the last two seasons and more if he is to help Stoke finish high this season.