Stoke City player follows Ryan Mmaee out of exit door in overseas loan deal | OneFootball

Stoke City have confirmed that Nikola Jojic has joined former club FK Mladost Lučani on loan for the rest of the season.

Stoke City have confirmed that forward Nikola Jojic has returned to former club FK Mladost Lucani for the rest of the 2024/25 season.

The 20-year-old, who can play in different attacking positions, joined the Potters in the summer of 2023 from the Serbian outfit, but he has struggled to make an impact.

And, with Jojic not seemingly in the plans of boss Steven Schumacher, the club announced on their official site that the player had sealed a return to his home country to spend the rest of the campaign with FK Mladost Lucani, who are currently third in the top-flight after seven games.

Nikola Jojic transfer move makes sense for all parties

From the perspective of the player, his move to Stoke hasn’t really gone to plan.

Of course, given his age, patience was always going to be required with Jojic, but he has only made two senior appearances for the Potters, with the majority of his football coming with the U21s.

Both of those outings came last season, and with a host of new recruits beefing up the squad this summer, it’s pretty clear that Jojic is way down the pecking order right now.

Therefore, a loan move makes sense, and so does returning to FK Mladost Lucani. They are the club Jojic came through with, so it should ensure he settles quickly, and it’s a league and environment that he knows well.

After a frustrating year or so, the only priority for the player will be to get back out on the pitch and to enjoy his football, and he should get the chance to do that back in Serbia.

Nikola Jojic can turn his Stoke City career around

Some will understandably feel that Jojic is going to struggle to have a career with Stoke moving forward, but it’s important to remember just how young he is.

Admittedly, he has a lot of work to do to turn things around at the Bet365 Stadium, but he is under contract until the summer of 2027, so he will return ahead of next season.

We know that young players develop at a different pace, and there will be hope at Stoke that this is a move where things can click for Jojic, even if the standard is below the Championship.

So, the onus is now on the player. He will hope to play well in Serbia, and then reassess things with Stoke next summer.

Stoke City’s squad depth

In truth, this decision to let Jojic go won’t have much of an impact on Stoke, as the player was nowhere near the first-team, and, as outlined above, there are many options ahead of him for Schumacher.

The manager will be pleased with the state of his squad, with Ryan Mmaee another he was willing to let depart outside the English transfer window after he joined Rapid Wien on an initial loan.

The 5-0 win at Middlesbrough in the League Cup by a much-changed side highlighted the strength in depth that Stoke boast, which includes some exciting youngsters from the academy.

So, they certainly should be able to cope up until January, when the boss and the recruitment team will no doubt have a better understanding of where they can improve.