Why Mark Robins may secretly love Stoke City’s £10.5m Sorba Thomas deal | OneFootball

Stoke City have won three and drawn one since the sale of Sorba Thomas and the switch of formation

Stoke City, after a difficult start to the season, with three defeats on the spin, have bounced back to go four games in a row undefeated despite the significant departure of Sorba Thomas to Hull City.

It was another busy window of turnover in North Staffordshire for Stoke, with ten fresh faces entering the bet365 Stadium for over a combined £30 million.

Jack McGlynn, Ethan Galbraith, George Hirst, Djibril Soumare, Luke Graham, Justin Devenny, and Luce Bombino have taken up a significant portion of their transfer expenditure over the summer, as manager Mark Robins looks to finally put an end to the Potters’ decade-long wait for another top-half finish in any division.

Lewis Baker and Steven Nzonzi were released following the end of last campaign, as Tatsuki Seko, Milan Smit, and Nathan Lowe followed them out of the Potteries.

However, their most significant departure came on deadline day, as star winger Sorba Thomas forced through a switch to the Premier League.

Stoke City sold Sorba Thomas for £10.5 million to Hull City on deadline day

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Thomas, 27, was by far and away Stoke’s best player last season, having joined the club from Huddersfield Town only a year ago for a fee believed to be less than £2 million.

The Welshman scored ten and assisted 11 in 45 Championship games for the Potters, enjoying an excellent personal campaign despite the club's slip in form during the second half of the year.

His performances, naturally, attracted interest from elsewhere, including Premier League outfit Hull City, and as deadline day rolled around, he made his desire to go and play in the top-flight apparent, as a fee worth around £10.5 million was eventually agreed between the two clubs.

Why Sorba Thomas’ departure was initially viewed as a huge blow for Stoke City

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Thomas directly contributed to 21 of Stoke’s 51 league goals last season, discounting the couple of own goals he played a significant role in, as the winger was directly involved in over 40 per cent of the Potters’ league goals.

His importance to the side was apparent, as teams grew wise to his danger in the second half of the campaign, and began to nullify his threat from wide areas by any means necessary.

With Stoke losing each of their three opening league games to Swansea City, Southampton, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Thomas’ departure spelt even more danger for the Potters, but Robins has since ensured his exit has been mitigated and then some.

Stoke City are unbeaten in four games since Sorba Thomas’ exit amid change in shape

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Stoke hosted Norwich City on deadline day, and news of Thomas’ absence from the matchday squad was made clear early on in the day.

With three defeats on the spin following a terrible end to last season, this became a must-win game for Robins if he wanted to save his job, and all of a sudden, he had to find a way to get all three points against a play-off-chasing Canaries side.

The Potters lined up in a 3-4-2-1 shape, switching from the tried and tested 4-2-3-1 structure they had used for the bulk of Robins’ reign, and whilst rearguard action was required, a 1-0 win meant the pressure was ever so slightly lifted off Robins for a moment, though the former Coventry City boss knew he had to follow that up.

A 4-0 thumping of Charlton Athletic at home was followed by a 1-1 draw away to Cardiff City and a 2–1 away win over Watford, as Stoke made it four unbeaten without Thomas since his departure heading into their clash with Sheffield United just before the international break.

The Potters have stuck with the 3-4-2-1 shape in each of those fixtures, as Thomas’ exit may have proven to be a blessing in disguise, with the Welshman best deployed from the left wing.

Had Thomas not left, there is no guarantee that Stoke would have had an upturn in form as they have, and though it is a small sample size, the early signs of his exit are encouraging, though whether they can recover from his departure in the long-term remains to be seen.

Mark Robins may be quietly pleased with Sorba Thomas’ Stoke City sale

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Robins would have been as reluctant as anyone to see Thomas leave the bet365 Stadium this summer, and with Hull’s offer only being accepted on deadline day, it left the 56-year-old in a difficult position.

However, this change in shape as a result of Thomas’ exit may well be the blessing in disguise Stoke desperately needed, with the likes of Galbraith, Soumare, Graham, and Devenny shining in this formation switch.

Thomas saved Robins' job at times last season, and ironically, his exit could well have saved it again, as the former Sky Blues manager must be secretly pleased with the way things have transpired.