Stoke City and Mark Hughes once dodged serious transfer bullet - it involves Liverpool | OneFootball

Oussama Assaidi signed for Stoke City on loan in the summer of 2013 from Liverpool and the Potters will be glad to never have struck a permanent deal

Oussama Assaidi was a mercurial talent who possessed an abundance of technical brilliance and showed glimpses of his ability whilst on loan with Stoke City between 2013 and 2015, though the Potters will be glad not to have signed him permanently.

Moroccan-born winger Oussama Assaidi emerged as a hot prospect, having made his professional debut in 2006 with Omniworld (now Almere City) in the Netherlands.

Assaidi and his family moved to Amsterdam at an early age, and having spent time in the youth system for AZ Alkmaar, the winger left for Almere to begin his senior career in the Dutch second tier, where he spent two seasons before joining De Graafschap in the same division.

Five goals and two assists in the first five games of the 2009/10 season alerted Eredivisie side SC Heerenveen, where he would go on to announce himself as one of the brightest talents on the continent.

In 93 games, Assaidi would score 23 goals and grab 25 assists from the wing for Heerenveen, which alerted the attention of clubs across the continent, but it would be Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool who would snap up the winger for merely just £2.4 million, amid interest from the likes of Ajax, Fulham, Spartak Moscow and Galatasaray.

Upon his arrival, then-manager Rodgers said, "He fits our style perfectly. He's an exciting player who is very good in one-versus-one situations and I think he's a player who will excite the crowd.

"We're not expecting too much too early - he needs time to adapt. But we're delighted he's chosen to come here over a number of other clubs.

Now in the Premier League, Assaidi was keen to make a name for himself, but he would make just 12 appearances across all competitions in his first season on Merseyside, with only 73 minutes of Premier League football, and was made available for loan the following season, when Stoke City came calling.

Ahead of the 2013/14 season, Assaidi joined fellow Premier League side Stoke City on a season-long loan deal from Liverpool to play more first-team football.

The Moroccan would join the likes of Erik Pieters, Marko Arnautovic, and Marc Muniesa to join the Potters that summer, in what was manager Mark Hughes' first season in charge of the club, having taken over from Tony Pulis in the summer.

Assaidi would initially struggle for game time after joining the club, but would begin to appear in the matchday squad more regularly after making his debut as a substitute in a 1-0 away loss to Fulham, before making his full debut the following match at home to West Brom in a goalless draw.

The winger would struggle to make an impact and would drop back down to the bench for Stoke's home game against Jose Mourinho's Chelsea, and with the game level at 2-2, he would be introduced late as a late substitute.

The Potters stifled a counter-attack from the Blues, and Stephen Ireland fed Assaidi the ball on the left wing before cutting in on his right foot and unleashing a powerful strike into the far corner beyond Petr Cech in the Chelsea goal to win the game 3-2 in the dying embers.

That moment would ultimately be the pinnacle of his Stoke career, and in truth, his entire career, as although he would show more glimpses of his talent with goals away to Newcastle, at home to Everton and at home to Fulham, they were few and far between.

With 19 Premier League games and four goals under his belt, Stoke were interested in bringing the Moroccan back once more, this time permanently, to provide him with the chance to make a home of the Potteries, but were priced out by the Reds, who wanted £7 million for the winger.

The two clubs eventually came to an agreement over a deal, but only for a loan once again.

Assaidi would make just nine appearances in the Premier League for Stoke that season, with only one coming as a start, and he failed to score before making the move to the UAE in January 2015, joining Shabab Al Ahli for £4.7 million.

The spark that Assaidi caried during his first stint in Staffordshire was simply no longer there, and in hindsight, Stoke most certainly dodged a bullet.

After leaving Stoke, Assaidi was never the same player.

He made just 13 league appearances in his solitary season in the Middle East before heading back to the Netherlands in December 2016, joining FC Twente.

The 17-time capped former Moroccan international made 25 appearances in the 2017/18 season in the Eredivisie for Twente, who were relegated in 18th place, in what would prove to be his final full season in professional football, aged just 29.

Assaidi showed glimpses of his talent throughout his career, but unfortunately, they were few and far between.

Stoke will be pleased that they never signed him on a permanent basis, given his career path after the club, but maybe if he had found a home in Staffordshire, things might have gone differently.