Stoke City: Narcis Pelach may be frustrated by Steven Schumacher, Jon Walters summer call - View | OneFootball

Stoke chose not to bolster their squad at right-back in the summer, and that already looks like the wrong decision

Stoke City have had a turbulent start to the new campaign, and new boss Narcis Pelach has now got to get the most out of a squad that he has not chosen to play for him this season.

The Potters moved to appoint Pelach last week in the wake of Steven Schumacher's sacking, and while he will likely have had a good idea of what needed improving before he took the job, it will have become a lot clearer last Friday as he watched his side succumb to a disappointing 3-1 home defeat to winless Hull City in his first game in charge.

There were poor performances throughout the side, especially in the second-half as Stoke let in three goals without reply, and right-back Junior Tchamadeu was a weak link at the back as two of the Tigers' goals came from his side of defence, and he was caused trouble by substitute Liam Millar before being taken off ten minutes before the end.

The 20-year-old has played well at times in the Championship for Stoke since his arrival from Colchester United last summer, but it was a big decision to make him the club's only out-and-out right-back this season and not bring in a back-up, and one that the Potters' chiefs may regret as the campaign goes on.

Stoke wanted a right-back in the summer but settled on Tchamadeu

Right-back has not been a position of trouble for Stoke over the last few seasons, but they have left themselves short this season after a summer without a new addition to that position.

Ki-Jana Hoever lit up the bet365 Stadium from the right of defence over two loan spells in the last 18 months, after his initial arrival from Wolves saw him register four goals and an assist in 15 league games, which prompted Stoke to loan him in again last summer as he impressed once again with four goals and five assists in 40 Championship appearances in 2023/24.

The Potters were reportedly interested in bringing him back to the Potteries for a third spell this summer, but a move never materialised and he joined Ligue 1 side AJ Auxerre, which seemingly made Stoke move onto other options that they were then linked to such as Newcastle's Harrison Ashby and Sturm Graz' Max Johnston.

Neither of those players joined either, meaning Stoke's pursuit of a right-back came to nothing, which has left them with just Tchamadeu as Pelach's only out-and-out option in that position this season, with Lynden Gooch as a back-up and youngster Jaden Dixon who can also step into that role.

Right-back is now a position of trouble for Pelach

Tchamadeu did start the season relatively well under Schumacher, but his form is bound to go through peaks and troughs at just 20-years-old, and the Hull game was a clear example of exactly that.

He was solid in keeping out Abdulkadir Omur in the first 45 minutes with Stoke's clean sheet still intact, but the game changed at half-time and Omur's replacement Liam Millar was a big reason for that.

Millar gave Tchamadeu a lot of work to do as wave after wave of Hull attacks came down his wing in the second period, and his cross in the 62nd minute was poorly defended by the 20-year-old, which in turn saw the visitors win a penalty to bring the scores level.

Tim Walter's side soon grabbed another through Regan Slater, before Tchamadeu was found wanting again in the 79th minute as Kasey Palmer raced through unchallenged on his side of defence, and his low shot was tapped into his own net by Ben Wilmot.

It was not a great showing in front of his new boss, and Tchamadeu looked tired as he was taken off two minutes later, but will likely remain in the side for the games to come due to the lack of obvious replacements in Pelach's squad.

Gooch is a versatile player that can do a job at right-back, but started this campaign featuring at left-wing under Schumacher before he picked up what looks to be a serious injury against Oxford United in his last game in charge, so he is set to be unavailable to Pelach for the foreseeable future.

The only other clear option at right-back is Jaden Dixon, who has filled in for cup games against Carlisle United and Fleetwood Town and done well when picked, but is only 17-years-old and will likely not be trusted to step up and consistently challenge Tchamadeu for his place in Championship games.

Stoke look to be seriously lacking at right-back as a result of their summer call to not sign a back-up, and that decision may already be rued by Pelach, just over a week since he took charge of his new side.