Mmaee to be moved on? Stoke City must sort these 3 issues before August 30th | OneFootball

The Potters must have these problems solved by the time the 2024/25 season kicks off

Stoke City need to make some smart transfer and contract decisions in the coming months to help them push up the table next season under Steven Schumacher.

The Potters are set to take on their first summer transfer window under former Plymouth boss Schumacher, and have already been active in the market with goalkeeper Viktor Johansson and centre-back Ben Gibson arriving from Rotherham United and Norwich City respectively.

Schumacher has been decisive in his contract decisions too, with Tyrese Campbell allowed to leave after eight years with the club, despite a strong end to the campaign, and Ciaran Clark, Wesley, Tom Edwards and D'Margio Wright-Phillips all set to depart upon the expiry of their contracts.

A one-year extension was triggered on Jordan Thompson’s existing contract, while Frank Fielding and Enda Stevens have each penned new 12-month deals, but Schumacher still has a lot of work to do on the transfer front this summer.

With that in mind, here are three key issues that we think the Potters must address before the summer window slams shut at the end of August.

A decision must be made on Mmaee

Things have not gone to plan for striker Ryan Mmaee since his arrival in the Potteries last July, as the Belgian-born Moroccan international joined Stoke from Hungarian champions Ferencvaros on a three-year deal for an initial reported fee of around £1.75m.

It was a tough start for Mmaee in English football under then-boss Alex Neil, but he did begin to find some form and was Schumacher's preferred forward option upon his arrival as head-coach, starting all of his first six games in charge.

It began to turn sour behind the scenes for the 26-year-old after the turn of the year though - he reportedly saw a late January move to an unnamed Turkish club fall through after deciding to stay put at Stoke, then was banished to train with the U21 squad at the start of February by Schumacher due to poor discipline in training.

He returned to the first-team fold in mid-March, but was soon ruled out for the remainder of the season after picking up another hamstring injury, so finished his debut Potters campaign on the treatment table and was barely missed by his teammates as they scored eight goals in the final three games of the season in his absence.

Mmaee is clearly a talented striker, with a great goal record at his previous clubs, but has only shown fleeting glimpses of that ability in a Stoke shirt and may simply not be the correct fit for English football and Schumacher's style of play.

Ahead of this summer, it seems unlikely that fellow strikers Niall Ennis, Nathan Lowe and Emre Tezgel will leave the club permanently, so he is the most likely to depart to free up funds for a new forward that Stoke will undoubtedly be after following the departure of Tyrese Campbell.

Schumacher has to make a concrete decision soon on whether he wants to keep the Moroccan at the club ahead of next season and back him to be his main man up front, or simply sever ties and let him leave this summer for a fee that recoups close to what Stoke paid last year.

Tezgel and Lowe could leave on loan

Stoke have two 18-year-old strikers within their ranks, Emre Tezgel and Nathan Lowe, that will need decisions to be made on their immediate future this summer.

Burton-born Tezgel has long been identified as the answer to Stoke's striking woes over the last few years, after he was prolific at youth level and became the youngest player to ever play for Stoke in January 2022 when he came on as a late substitute in an FA Cup victory over Leyton Orient.

After a stop-start season with injury in 2022/23, he returned to action for the Potters' youth sides last season and then headed out on loan to MK Dons in the January transfer window to help with their League Two play-off push.

He made just five league starts in his 17 Dons appearances, but registered three goals and assists each under Mike Williamson - a decent return given his age, past injury issues and lack of minutes.

Lowe, who has been Tezgel's strike partner and close friend throughout their time together in the Potters' academy, was promoted to the first-team last campaign under Alex Neil following two appearances in 2022/23 and an impressive pre-season.

He scored a late winner in October at Bristol City to announce himself on the Championship stage and made an overall 15 appearances under both Neil and Schumacher, but looked raw in the second-tier and likely needs a loan move to properly find his feet at senior level.

Both players are set to be fighting for a place in Schumacher's squad ahead of next season, but only one will surely be kept on, with the other heading out on loan.

The Stoke boss could have a decision to make over who stays and who goes, and his hand may be forced by either Tezgel or Lowe having a great pre-season, so it is a situation to keep a close eye on this summer.

A new left-back is a priority

Stoke signed 33-year-old left-back Enda Stevens on a free transfer last summer after his contract expired at Sheffield United, but the Republic of Ireland international spent a large part of the season on the treatment table and was only able to play 21 times in the Championship all season.

Stevens did impress when he played, particularly towards the end of the campaign when he helped the Potters stave off relegation, but his absence highlighted a real issue with depth in his position.

Central midfielder Jordan Thompson, utility man Lynden Gooch and on-loan right-back Ki Jana Hoever all deputised in Stevens' absence, but Schumacher must pursue a new left-back this summer to solve their problems for good.

The Potters have already been linked with left-back options in out-of-contract Norwich man Sam McCallum and Plymouth's Mickel Miller, so it is clearly a matter that is of importance to the club ahead of next season, but it must be fully resolved quickly, so it does not become an even bigger issue as the summer goes on.