Stoke City must offload player that Ricky Martin described as being a "constant attacking threat" | OneFootball

Andre Vidigal needs to leave the Potters as he is clearly not favoured by Mark Robins

While Stoke City's main focus will be on incomings as the January window nears it's end, they are sure to sanction some exits once they have signed players closer to the deadline, and one of those departures has to be Portuguese winger Andre Vidigal, who has been completely out-of-favour and needs a move away for the good of his own career.

The Potters have been quiet on the transfer front so far this month, with the deadline now creeping ever nearer and boss Mark Robins surely wanting to add some of his own signings to a squad that lacks depth in most areas.

They have signed Josh Wilson-Esbrand on loan from Manchester City, but are yet to let any players go, mainly due to already having a thin squad regardless, and then also because of numerous recent injuries that have stretched their squad to its limits in past games.

While Robins focuses on new additions, the club are likely to be working in the background on selling players that he does not want to be included in his squad for the rest of the season. One of those is surely Vidigal, who is yet to feature under the 55-year-old, despite the Potters' lack of numbers in attacking areas.

The 26-year-old began his Stoke career in fine form after joining in the summer of 2023, but he has lost his place in the starting eleven over the last 12 months, and his lack of impact makes now feel like the right time for him to leave and have a fresh start elsewhere.

Andre Vidigal's great Stoke City start did not last very long

There was understandable fanfare surrounding Vidigal's arrival in July 2023, due to his previous pedigree as a Portuguese youth international and impressive exploits in the Primeira Liga with Maritimo, and after then-technical director Ricky Martin described him as an "exciting" player with a "constant attacking threat."

Vidigal seemed to be worth every penny of the reported £450,000 that the Potters spent on bringing him to the club in his first few outings, as he netted a brace on his debut to seal a 4-1 victory over Rotherham United, before going on to find the net three more times in his next five games in all competitions with match-winning strikes against West Brom and Watford.

He continued to play consistent games well into the season, but boss Alex Neil was soon sacked and replaced by Steven Schumacher before the turn of the year, and he was initially trusted by the former Plymouth head-coach, but soon saw his playing time dwindle as Bae Jun-ho's form improved.

Vidigal will be wondering where it all went wrong for him in ST4, after he impressed upon his arrival, but fell further out of favour as his debut season at the club went on, and only managed to make the starting eleven once in the final 15 league games under Schumacher as other players impressed in their eventually successful bid for survival.

Stoke-on-Trent Live reported in September that the 26-year-old was understood to have turned down chances to leave the Potters late in the window to fight for his place, with lucrative offers thought to have been on the table from Turkey and Qatar, which he may now regret given how his last few months have played out.

Andre Vidigal has barely had a look-in this season and needs to move on from Stoke City

Vidigal's 2024/25 campaign has barely got off the ground as yet, despite it now being midway through the season, with the likes of Lewis Koumas, Jun-ho, Sam Gallagher and Million Manhoef all ahead of him in the pecking order in terms of wingers.

He did not make a single appearance under Schumacher at the start of the season, while not even being included in his matchday squad in five of the first six Championship games, but the former Argyle boss was then sacked in mid-September, and Vidigal was issued a reprieve by new head-coach Narcis Pelach.

The Portuguese youth international featured off the bench in eight consecutive league games under Pelach, while being handed his first start for the club in over six months against Southampton in the EFL Cup, but he was soon once again relegated to being an unused substitute more often than not after failing to impress in any of his cameos.

Stoke moved to sack the Spaniard last month after a run of nine games without a win, then Vidigal did not feature in any squads under interim boss Ryan Shawcross, and is yet to play a single minute in the first four games of Mark Robins' reign, despite an injury crisis that sees both Manhoef and Gallagher sidelined.

The 26-year-old's stock is so low in ST4 right now that he did not get on the pitch over youngster Emre Tezgel in the FA Cup against Sunderland, while Niall Ennis was shifted out-of-position to the right-wing last time out against Portsmouth, and he remained on the bench.

Stoke are looking to add attacking reinforcements to their squad this month, and if he cannot get any game-time now, then he likely never will, so letting him leave in the coming weeks seems like the most obvious agreement to come to for all parties involved.

It certainly feels unlikely that he is going to impact the team in a positive sense over the coming months, given his lack of impact off the bench so far this season, so the Potters will surely want to sanction a move away to get his wages off the books and clear up another space for an attacker in their squad.

If Vidigal does depart the Potteries before the deadline closes, then many supporters will likely feel apathetic towards the move, but some will also feel a tinge of sadness due to what could have been, after his blistering start in a Stoke shirt that saw him become a fan-favourite in an instant.