Reports have emerged that Stoke City manager Nathan Jones has excluded eight players from his pre-season squad’s tour of the Netherlands and informed them that they have no place in his plans for next seasons Championship campaign. The players that have been left out are Moritz Bauer, Geoff Cameron, Mame Biram Diouf, Gianelli Imbula, Julien Ngoy, Erik Pieters, Kevin Wimmer and Bojan. One of the players has already moved on from the club with Pieters joining Premier League outfit Burnley. Some of these players could be a steal for some Premier League clubs as well as other Championship clubs, and I will look at a couple and what they offer.
Kevin Wimmer came to England with Spurs amid much expectation, having signed for the club from FC Koln in 2015 as a 22-year-old standout who had just helped Cologne gain promotion back to the Bundesliga. However the Austrian could never really break into the Spurs team and found himself being sold to Stoke City in 2017 for £18m, but another weak spell has seen him spend last season back in Germany on loan at Hannover 96. At 26-years-old, Wimmer could offer a team like Leeds a reliable defensive option for a low price. Averaging 1.1 tackles and 1.9 interceptions per game, he is solid and could still develop as he is yet to reach his prime. With Stoke looking to get rid of the player, the Whites could do worse business than snap up Wimmer given their injury-plagued defence and the recent sale of Pontus Jansson to Brentford leaving Leeds down to bare bones.
Right-back Moritz Bauer could provide an excellent rotational option for south coast side Southampton. With Portuguese international Cedric Soares seemingly on his way out of the club, it leaves youngster Yan Valery as the starting right back at St Marys. Valery taking the starting berth suits the Saints as they like to develop their academy talent, however, Valery cannot be expected to play 38 Premier League games as well as the cup competitions at such a young age. Bauer could offer the south coast club a cheap option that could cover for the young French-Tunisian in cup games. Averaging 1.5 tackles and one interception per game, the Austrian provides solid defensive cover and could potentially flourish under fellow Austrian Ralph Hassenhuttl.