Stoke City will be laughing at Rangers after £2m player snubbed Ibrox | OneFootball

Stoke City will love the fact that they beat Rangers to the signature of Luke Graham this summer

Stoke City's summer business has stalled after a rapid start to the window, but the Potters may have a potential gem on their hands after beating fierce competition to their signature.

Stoke have rounded out their pre-season unbeaten in all four games, drawing with Crewe Alexandra and most recently Valencia 1-1, whilst victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Everton mean the Potters will be heading into their League Cup clash next weekend with Oldham Athletic full of confidence.

Under the guidance of Mark Robins, working closely with sporting director Jon Walters and technical director Stuart Harvey, as well as the scouting team, five new faces have come through the doors at the bet365 Stadium so far this summer, with more expected before the window closes.

Each of Joshua Griffiths, Svante Ingelsson, Djibril Soumare, Ethan Galbraith, and Luke Graham has all joined the club, though one of those has impressed more than most during those pre-season games, and may well have given Rangers some early transfer envy.

Stoke City completed a £2 million deal for Scottish centre-back Luke Graham this summer amid Rangers' interest

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Graham, 22, joined Stoke this summer in a £2 million deal from Scottish side Dundee, having excelled in the Scottish Premiership last season, where he made 32 appearances in the league.

The defender was the subject of interest from numerous clubs across the United Kingdom and Europe, including Rangers, who were looking to add the young Scot to their defence following the appointment of Derek McInnes.

Portsmouth would push Stoke all the way with an identical bid for Graham, but it would be the Potters who would prevail, as Graham has already started to make an impression on supporters in North Staffordshire.

He would appear in the first 45 minutes of Stoke's 1-0 home win over Everton in pre-season, and played 83 minutes alongside Ben Wilmot in the Potters' 1-1 draw at home to Valencia, where he would be rested in place of Ben Gibson after another solid display.

Rangers may already regret missing out on Luke Graham after Stoke City supporters' rave reviews

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After his first couple of outings in Potters colours, Graham has taken to Stoke like a duck to water, and looks to have already nailed down his spot in the heart of defence for their opening game of the season at home to Swansea City.

Stoke supporters have already voiced their excitement for the defender via social media, reacting to his performances against both Everton and Valencia.

Such is how much he impressed on his debut; Graham is already receiving tips to be Stoke's Player of the Season for next year.

Ashley Phillips won over the majority of Stoke supporters from his time on loan at the club from Tottenham Hotspur, and to already predict Graham will be a better player than the Spurs loanee is a brave and bold claim, to say the least, but one that highlights just how high hopes are for him.

Referring to Stoke's 1-0 win over Everton, in which Graham played just 45 minutes, it was a small sample size for Potters supporters to take in, but one that will surely be getting Rangers fans confused as to why they didn't push harder for his signature this summer.

Whilst it's early days, with Graham yet to make a single competitive appearance for Stoke, there are already signs that Rangers have potentially missed out on a real star here with the Scot.

What is Rangers' loss is Stoke's gain, as the Potters hope for a much-improved year with him in the heart of defence.

Mark Robins will be hoping for Luke Graham impact at Stoke City this season

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Stoke haven't recorded a top-half finish in any division they have been in for over a decade, as Robins looks to finally end their dismal streak.

The former Coventry City boss looked set to surely do so last time around, but the Potters endured a truly horrific second half of the campaign, and fell to an all-too-familiar 17th place.

With Graham at the back, Robins will be hoping for some added defensive solidity that wavered during the second half of last season, as Stoke look to finally fire themselves into the top half, with a place in the play-offs the primary goal.

Graham could be a star in the making, and one Rangers may regret not getting over the line when they had the opportunity.