Walsall, Stoke City agreement will be talked about for years | OneFootball

Nathan Lowe's move from Stoke City to Walsall will go down as one of the most memorable in EFL history.

Loan deals between Championship and League Two clubs are common to help young players gain experience, but few have attracted quite as much attention as Nathan Lowe's move from Stoke City to Walsall in the 2024/25 season.

Lowe was not the only Stoke player to join Walsall on a temporary basis last summer, with Tommy Simkin following him to the Midlands, but while the goalkeeper performed well, it was the striker who grabbed the headlines with his stunning performances.

However, Lowe's journey with the Saddlers will not only be remembered for his exploits on the pitch, but what happened after he was recalled by the Potters in January was equally remarkable.

Lowe has recently made another loan move away from the bet365 Stadium, this time to League One promotion hopefuls Stockport County, but it is unlikely to be quite as eventful as his spell at Walsall.

Walsall struck gold with Nathan Lowe, Stoke City transfer agreement

After coming through the club's academy, Lowe scored one goal in 13 appearances for Stoke in the 2023-24 season, but with his game time proving to be limited in the Potteries, he was given the green light to join Walsall on loan last summer.

The Saddlers had recorded an 11th-placed finish in League Two in the year before Lowe's arrival, and few predicted they would achieve much at the start of last season, but the striker had a transformational effect on his new club.

On just his second appearance, Lowe scored a brace in a 3-2 victory over League One side Huddersfield Town in the EFL Cup, and he would soon translate that form into the league as Walsall emerged as serious promotion contenders.

The Saddlers were already sitting in the automatic promotion places when they put together an incredible eight-game winning run in December and January, with Lowe scoring seven goals during that period, and that saw them establish a commanding lead at the top of the table, with automatic promotion looking a near certainty.

However, while Walsall were becoming increasingly confident of achieving promotion, there was a managerial change taking place at Lowe's parent club Stoke as Mark Robins replaced Narcis Pelach, and Sadler's worst fears were realised when the new Potters boss recalled the 19-year-old to help in their battle against relegation.

Lowe ended his time at the Bescot Stadium with a total of 18 goals and seven assists in 30 appearances for the Saddlers, and although they would have been devastated to lose him, he certainly left them in a strong position in the table.

Stoke City were the real winners of Nathan Lowe, Walsall deal

While Sadler admitted he was not expecting Lowe to be recalled by Stoke, he insisted that he had planned for that eventuality, and after Walsall recorded their ninth straight win with a 4-2 victory over MK Dons in their first game after his departure, it seemed as though they would be able to cope without their prolific loanee.

The Saddlers then went on a five-game winless run that saw their grip on top spot begin to loosen a little, but it looked as though they were back on track after consecutive victories against Chesterfield and Morecambe in mid-February.

However, the wheels then came off in spectacular fashion as Walsall's season imploded, and after a horror 13-game winless run that included eight draws and five defeats, they went into the final game of the season at Crewe Alexandra with automatic promotion no longer in their own hands.

The Saddlers did return to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over the Railwaymen, and for a short time, it looked as though that would be enough for them to sneak their way into the top three, but Antoni Sarcevic's dramatic 96th-minute winner for Bradford City against Fleetwood Town sent the Bantams into League One and condemned Sadler's men to the play-offs.

Walsall's improved form continued as they recorded a surprise 4-1 aggregate victory over Chesterfield in their play-off semi-final, but after an uninspiring performance in which they struggled to create any meaningful chances, they were beaten 1-0 by AFC Wimbledon in the final at Wembley.

Sadler has been allowed to remain in charge at the Bescot Stadium heading into the new campaign, but he will surely always be haunted by his side's collapse in the second half of last season, as well as the fact that Lowe's goals during his outstanding loan spell ultimately counted for nothing.

On the other hand, Lowe returned to Stoke from his time with the Saddlers as a much-improved and significantly more confident player, and with that in mind, it could be argued that the Potters were the real winners of the deal.