Exclusive: Why Don Goodman thinks Stoke City transfer news will leave Mark Robins "disappointed" | OneFootball

Don Goodman has shared his reaction to Stoke City midfielder Wouter Burger leaving the club for Hoffenheim.

Pundit Don Goodman believes Stoke City manager Mark Robins will be frustrated to lose midfielder Wouter Burger after he completed a move to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim.

Burger joined Stoke from Swiss outfit Basel in the summer of 2023 for a fee of £4.3 million, and he was a regular for the club over the past two seasons under a host of different managers, including Alex Neil, Steven Schumacher, Narcis Pelach and Robins.

The Potters struggled during Burger's time at the bet365 Stadium, with the club only narrowly avoiding relegation from the Championship in both seasons, but the 24-year-old impressed on an individual level, and his performances clearly caught the eye of Hoffenheim.

Hoffenheim are believed to have paid a fee of around €4 million - €5 million for Burger, and Stoke sporting director Jon Walters claimed that after the club turned down a bid for the midfielder in January, despite the fact that he was "keen to pursue" the move, they "decided not to stand in his way" on this occasion.

However, while the Potters have lost Burger, Percy claimed that they are currently working on two or three new signings, having already brought in Maxi Talovierov, Aaron Cresswell, Sorba Thomas and Divin Mubama so far this summer.

Don Goodman reacts as Wouter Burger departs Stoke City for Hoffenheim

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Goodman admitted that Burger was not quite able to reach the same standards last season as he did in his first year at Stoke, but he claimed that Robins will still be disappointed to lose the Dutchman following his move to Hoffenheim.

"I'm sure Wouter Burger is a player that Mark Robins likes and would have liked to have kept," Goodman said.

"For me, he has such good technical ability, and you want him to influence games more than he did last season.

"I'd say the season before, he was a real key player, but his levels just seemed to drop off a little last season from what I could see.

"Mark Robins would probably have felt that he could have been the head coach to get that little bit extra out of such a talented individual.

"I'm sure they will be disappointed to lose him."

As Goodman said, Burger's performances declined a little over the course of last season, so Stoke may have felt that it was the right time to cash in on the midfielder.

However, Burger is a talented player with a lot of potential, which is underlined by the fact that he has secured a move to the Bundesliga, so the Potters may be disappointed that they never got to see the best of him during his time at the bet365 Stadium.

The one positive for Stoke is that Walters claims the club have made a "substantial profit" on the £4.3 million they paid for Burger two years ago, so the income from his sale to Hoffenheim will at least provide Robins with extra funds to bolster his squad.