Stoke City and Huddersfield Town transfer flops: The Ramadan Sobhi, Tom Ince story | OneFootball

Huddersfield Town signed Ramadan Sobhi from Stoke City, whilst the Potters signed Tom Ince from the Terriers less than two weeks later.

Stoke City and Huddersfield Town essentially swapped wingers in the summer of 2018, though it is difficult to pinpoint who got the worst deal between the two.

In the summer of 2018, Stoke had just suffered relegation from the Premier League after ten consecutive years in the top flight, whilst Huddersfield had secured survival in what was their first season at the pinnacle of English football.

Egyptian winger Ramadan Sobhi joined Stoke in the summer of 2016 from Al-Alhy as a 19-year-old for a fee rising to £5 million.

Excitement surrounded the teenager as there was hope from Potters fans that he would become the club's next great attacker after Xherdan Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic.

The following summer, Ince signed for Huddersfield in a deal worth up to £10 million upon the Terriers securing promotion to the Premier League after enjoying a stellar season in the Championship with Derby County, notching 20 goal contributions in 45 games.

Stoke and Huddersfield met for the first time in the Premier League in December 2017, drawing the match 1-1 at the Accu Stadium, with Ince firing Huddersfield in front before Sobhi equalised for the Potters on the hour mark.

Less than seven months later, the pair had swapped clubs, with Ince heading to the Championship whilst Sobhi remained in the Premier League.

Ramadan Sobhi joined Huddersfield Town as Tom Ince went the other way

Despite having signed a fresh five-year deal with Stoke in August 2017, Sobhi left Stoke to join David Wagner's Huddersfield in the Premier League for £5.7 million on June 12th 2018.

Not long after, Ince was heading in the other direction, joining the newly-relegated Potters for £12 million as part of their £50 million plus spending spree, including the likes of Benik Afobe, James McClean and Sam Clucas.

Ince was linking up with former manager Rowett, who he had thrived under at Derby, and it was hoped by Stoke fans that the pair could recreate their fruitful relationship in Staffordshire, as the club was hotly tipped to be challenging for the league title.

What transpired for both players wasn't as planned, as both Huddersfield and Stoke fans could make legitimate arguments as to who got worse value for money.

Sobhi played just four games for the Terriers without starting in any before heading back out on-loan to former club Al-Alhy in January as Huddersfield would be relegated.

The Egyptian would again head out on-loan to Al-Alhy for the 2019/20 season, before joining Pyramids FC on a permanent basis in the summer of 2020 for a fraction of what Huddersfield had paid for him just two years earlier.

Ince, on the other hand, would make 103 appearances for Stoke in all competitions, 99 more than what Sobhi did for Huddersfield.

However, the winger's time at the Potters culminated with four consecutive bottom-half finishes, whilst he would head out on-loan to both Luton Town and Reading before ultimately leaving on a free at the end of his contract.

His £30,000 per week contract would last over four years as the Potters were pushed to the financial limit during his time with the club, and having shown a fraction of the player he was at Derby, it has left Stoke fans puzzled as to what exactly went wrong.

It is difficult to decide who had the worst deal of the two

Where Huddersfield fans will argue they got the worst deal of the two, with Sobhi costing the club £1.425 million per appearance before disappearing back to Egypt as the club suffered relegation, Stoke fans will make a strong case for Ince.

Ince was a much more regular fixture for Stoke than Sobhi was for Huddersfield without a shadow of doubt, though much greater things were expected from Ince than what was delivered, taking into account his prior form at Stoke, his price-tag and wages.

Both sets of fans can make valid arguments as to who had the worst deal, though nothing can deny that both transfers were huge disasters in their own right.

Ince, now 33, has been a squad player for Watford in the Championship over the past couple of seasons, whilst Sobhi, now 28, is about to enter his sixth consecutive season with Pyramids in the Egyptian Premier League.