Stoke City’s 3 most underwhelming signings from the last 10 years

Stoke City have made some pretty poor transfer decisions in recent years – a major contributor to their relegation and subsequent mediocrity in the Championship.

Recruitment is the most important function in any football club and if it isn’t quite right, it can really stop a football club in its tracks.

The Potters are a good example of that – a club that was on the up before slowly grinding to a halt because of their poor transfer record.

Who are Stoke’s most underwhelming signings?

Here, we take a look at that poor transfer record and assess the three most underwhelming signings of the last 10 years. And there was quite a few.

Saido Berahino

There was a lot of expectation on Berahino when he arrived at Stoke given how well he had performed for West Brom prior to signing.

The striker was meant to bring goals to the team as they looked to maintain their place in the Premier League.

But just three goals from 51 appearances highlights just how underwhelming his stint with the Potters was, ultimately, ending in relegation to the Championship for the club.

His contract was terminated by mutual consent in before joining Belgian side Zulte Waregem. Berahino did recover some form in Belgium, scoring eight goals in 22 games for Waregem before leaving on loan for Charleroi and, then, moving to Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer.

Berahino struggled to make a consistent impact at Hillsborough and left once his contract expired after just one season and is currently a free agent.

Where is Jese now?

A high-profile name, Jese excited many Stoke fans upon his arrival. Given his track record you could understand why – Real Madrid academy graduate, Champions League winner, PSG paying £20m to sign him. There was plenty of optimism, and he couldn’t have got off to a better start, netting the winner against Arsenal on his debut.

However, things turned sour after that with Jese’s family troubles that season, and he accepted compassionate leave which meant he missed the majority of the season.

But he failed to tell the club where he was and failed to report back when expected. He didn’t stay in Staffordshire past his loan in 2018 and has gone on to have an enigmatic career.

Since his departure from the bet365 in 2018, Jese has played for five different clubs including Sporting Lisbon, Real Betis and, now, Sampdoria.

Kevin Wimmer

Wimmer will undoubtedly go down as one of the worst signings in Stoke City history.

The Austrian was brought in from Tottenham Hotspur in August 2017 for £18m but never got going in a Potters shirt.

Wimmer started just ten Premier League games and 14 overall in a Stoke shirt before joining Hannover on a season-long loan in May 2018, almost a year after his arrival.

The 30-year-old now plays Rapid Wien, after leaving the bet365 on loan on three separate occasions to Hannover, Mouscron and Karlsruher.