3 exciting Stoke City starlets that could make the club serious money | OneFootball

These Potters youngsters could be sold on for big fees in the years to come

Stoke City have placed a much bigger focus on their academy in recent years as they look to get the best out of their existing talents rather than spend big fees on players that may not work out at the club.

The Potters rarely saw a player work their way through the youth teams to become a permanent fixture in the first-team while in the Premier League from 2008 to 2018 but things have had to change in years gone by, with the club walking a tightrope regarding Financial Fair Play issues and trying to stay self-sustainable.

There has been a bigger onus on bringing players through the academy system and into the first-team since relegation to the Championship - Harry Souttar, Nathan Collins, Tyrese Campbell, and Tom Edwards have all broken into the senior side and gone on to become regulars at Premier League or Championship level, with Souttar and Collins both fetching sizable fees when sold on to Leicester City and Burnley respectively.

As is the nature of football nowadays, particularly in the EFL, clubs must try to identify youngsters early on that they feel have the potential to consolidate themselves in their first-team or bring in players that have been let go from top academies, which has been particularly fruitful for Stoke in recent years.

The Potters have numerous current up-and-coming young talents breaking into first-team football at the moment - here at Football League World, we have identified three of those that could go on to make the club a lot of money if they are sold on in the future.

Emre Tezgel

Striker Emre Tezgel became the youngest player to ever play for Stoke when he came on as a late substitute in an FA Cup victory over Leyton Orient in January 2022 at 16 years and 112 days but his progress has been stop-start since then, due to persistent muscle issues and the club's subsequent reluctance to push him too far into men's football at such a young age.

The England youth international has caught the eye of talent-spotting fans across the country for a number of years due to his impressive goal tally in the Potters' youth teams, and is still only 18, so has a bright future ahead of him provided he stays fit and consistent at whatever level Stoke feel is best to develop him at.

He made a further five senior appearances in two years after his debut, before joining MK Dons on loan in the 2023/24 January window to help with their play-off push, where he made just five league starts in his 17 appearances for the club, but registered three goals and assists each under Mike Williamson - a decent return for his first real foray into men's football.

He has shone in pre-season under Steven Schumacher this summer and was handed his first start for Stoke in their opening game of the Championship season against Coventry City on August 10, in a huge show of faith from the boss and a reminder that he is still firmly part of the club's plans going forward.

Given his goalscoring talents, the sky is truly the limit for Tezgel going forward in his career, and Stoke will hope that one of their own will make them a lot of money if he is eventually sold on to a higher club in the future.

Sol Sidibe

17-year-old Sol Sidibe has the potential to go on and become a regular fixture in Stoke's first-team in the years to come and is set to be a consistent part of Schumacher's squad this season after breaking through last campaign.

Sidibe's father, Mamady, is a cult hero among Potters fans for his promotion-winning spell at the club from 2005 to 2013. His son joined the club's academy setup as an 8-year-old in 2015 and has progressed through the ranks up to the senior side ever since.

He signed professional terms at Stoke last July and broke into the first-team squad at the beginning of the 2023/24 season, as he made his professional debut that August against Rotherham and became the first player born in 2007 to feature in either of the top two divisions - proving how highly-rated he is by all at the club.

Sidibe is also an England youth international at under-17 and under-18 level, and will be looking to improve on the eight appearances in his debut campaign this season after some impressive outings throughout the summer at the heart of the Potters' midfield.

He was reportedly of interest to Chelsea, Monaco and AC Milan earlier in the transfer window, but signed a new deal in July to tie him down with Stoke for another three years, and so it will seemingly take a sizeable fee to prise him from his boyhood club if his stock continues to rise in the years to come.

Tommy Simkin

Goalkeeper Tommy Simkin is seen as the long-term heir to Stoke's number-one spot in the future and has been with the club since the age of 12, progressing through the youth ranks to eventually make his senior bow for the club last season at 19 years old.

The England youth international has been a regular for the Potters' U18 and U21 sides in recent years, amid loan spells at National League North outfit AFC Fylde in 2022/23 and then National League side Solihull Moors in 2023/24, where he played 19 times in an impressive spell in the first half of the campaign.

He was recalled to the Stoke first-team squad in November following an injury to then-second-choice keeper Frank Fielding, and then spent four games on the bench before he made his Potters debut against Sheffield Wednesday on December 9, just a day after his 19th birthday, with Jack Bonham unavailable due to sickness.

After another loan at Forest Green Rovers, where he managed just one game for the club before his spell was cut short after a month amid their off-field troubles, he has now joined Walsall for the 2024/25 season and looks set to be the Saddlers' number one in the fourth-tier, after playing 90 minutes and keeping a clean sheet in their first league game of the campaign against Morecambe.

Simkin is certainly on the path to the top, and the Potters will hope he keeps on an upward trajectory to hopefully make them some profit in the future.