When Stoke City found themselves relegated to the EFL Championship, at least one of their upcoming players expressed a desire to remain within the Premier League. Huddersfield Town had survived their first season in the Premier League and were looking to strengthen ahead of the next season.
Tom Ince v Ramadan Sobhi
Impressing the Boss
The Terriers’ head coach, David Wagner, approached Ramadan Sobhi as he had impressed the German when the teams played each other. Sobhi had also scored against Huddersfield. The Egyptian winger made the move to the Terriers as he was guaranteed Top Flight football for at least one more season the fee was estimated to be around £5.7 million for Ramadan Sobhi.
In a bizarre twist, the Stoke manager Gary Rowett, who took over the Potters in May 2018 in an attempt to keep them up, approached the Terriers about the possibility of signing Tom Ince. Rowett had been the manager of Derby County, where Ince had been playing before moving to Huddersfield Town and the Premier League, at the time there had been discourse from the Derby fans over the transfer.
Although there had been no plans initially to sell the winger, when the offer from Rowett came in Town saw an opportunity for themselves and for Ince, who would get more playing time.
Wagner rotates his players, so they need to impress to earn a start. Ince, although making 33 appearances for the Terriers in the top flight, scored only two goals. This equals the same goals scored by Sobhi whilst at Stoke. The Egyptian only made 24 appearances that season.
However, Wagner sees the potential within Sobhi, who is still a youngster and will look to bring his talent to the fore.
Carabao Cup Second Round
When the draw for the Carabao Cup second round was made, Stoke drew Huddersfield. Setting up an intriguing prospect of Ince against Sobhi. Both will be looking to impress their respective new managers.
Sobhi has only made one appearance so far this season for the Terriers, but they have only played two games to date. Ince has made four appearances for Stoke in the EFL Championship.
Both teams are currently languishing at the bottom of their respective divisions. There is still a long way to go for both sides in the league, however, and one of either Ince or Sobhi will progress to the next round of the Carabao Cup.
The match takes place on Tuesday 28th August at the bet365 Stadium. Stoke will be looking to beat their Premier League opponents to prove a point. Huddersfield will want to defeat Stoke and progress through and at least equal their performance last season
Vital to both sides will be their respective wingers. It will be interesting to see who come out on top.
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