Stoke City

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Former Stoke City players Erik Pieters and Danny Pugh have returned to the Championship club to take coaching roles in the academy.

Pieters, 37, made more than 200 appearances during a six-year stay with the Potters between 2013 and 2019.

The former Netherlands international has been appointed as a professional development coach, while the defender will also be available as an overage player for the under-21 team.

Pugh initially joined Stoke on loan from Preston in 2007 before making the move permanent for £500,000 in January 2008.

The 43-year-old will help to coach the under-18s, having previously held the same position between 2021 and 2023.

Academy Director Jack Higgins said: "In Erik and Danny, we are adding two people with strong links to the football club to our professional development phase staff."

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Forest Green Rovers have signed defender Sydney Agina on loan until January from Championship side Stoke.

The 18-year-old academy player has also agreed a new two-year contract extension to stay with the Potters.

Agina made five league appearances for Stoke in the closing stages of last season and also earned his first international cap for Kenya in a friendly last month.

"We believe further exposure to first-team football at a good level, on a consistent basis, is the logical next step for him to take," said Stoke director of football Jonathan Walters.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says Stoke City are utilising the Championship's new squad spending rules to rebuild this summer.

The Potters have so far brought in Ethan Galbraith, Svante Ingelsson, Djibril Soumare and Luke Graham, as well as making Milan Smit's move permanent, for a reported combined total of about £21m.

They have also signed West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Josh Griffiths for an undisclosed fee, with the influx of arrivals coming after sporting director Jonathan Walters promised "multiple signings".

Squad Cost Rules (SCR) replaced profit and sustainability in the second tier for the 2026-27 season onwards, allowing clubs to spend 85% of their income on players and managers.

Previously, teams were limited to losses of £39m across a three-year period.

Stoke were one of just three Championship clubs to record a profit in 2024-25, but only did so because a £90m loan was waived by new owner John Coates to offset what otherwise would have been a £29m loss.

Owners are now also allowed to inject up to £33m into their club over three years, providing they do not top up the kitty by more than £15m per season.

"I think it gives clubs a little bit more leeway and that's provided the owner is willing to provide that funding," Maguire told BBC Radio Stoke.

"If you take a look at the commercial income for Stoke City, it's about half of the total the club generates, which is higher than that of many of the peer group that Stoke have in the Championship. So that will benefit the club.

"And also there's no doubt the Coates family, who have been amazingly beneficial owners, will continue to do that."

Maguire explained that transfer payments are also often broken down into instalments, with only the money spent in any given season taken into consideration by the EFL as a "cash management based approach".

"Let's say that you are paying £5m for a player but you're spreading that as perhaps £2m this year, £2m in another year and £1m as a final payment," he added.

"Only £2m of that will go into your calculations [for 2026-27], therefore the small print of transfers does allow smart negotiation by clubs to put them in a beneficial position as far as these SCR rules are concerned."

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Serbian forward Nikola Jojic has left Stoke City by mutual consent.

The 22-year-old joined the Potters on a four-year deal in 2023 but made only one league appearance, coming on as a substitute in a 2-0 Championship defeat by Preston in September the same year.

Jojic spent last season on loan at Slovenian club NK Radomlje and has also had spells with Mladost Lucani in Serbia and HNK Gorica in Croatia.

He leaves Stoke having only added a Carabao Cup substitute appearance in a 6-1 win over Rotherham, also in 2023, to his tally at the bet365 Stadium.

Stoke City are interested in signing striker Daniel Karlsbakk from Norwegian top flight club Sarpsborg 08. The 23-year-old has scored 24 goals in 44 Eliteserien games since moving from Heerenveen. (Pete O'Rourke), external

You can find more of Tuesday's EFL gossip here.

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Wolves striker Raul Jimenez scored during Mexico's victory over Ecuador on Wednesday to set up a potential last-16 tie with England at the World Cup.

The 35-year-old doubled the host nation's lead by finding the top corner during the 2-0 win and Maxico will now face either the Three Lions or DR Congo on Monday at 01:00 BST for a place in the quarter-finals.

Wanderers team-mate David Moller Wolfe also secured a place in the last 16 after starting the match for Norway in their 2-1 win over Ivory Coast.

The defender will be joined by Egil Selvik of Watford and Derby County's Sondre Langas as the Norwegians head to New Jersey to play Brazil on Sunday at 21:00 BST.

However, there are some English Football League players who will not be continuing to feature in the tournament after yesterday's results.

Rams stopper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom was between the sticks for Sweden's knockout match against France on Tuesday but they succumbed to a 3-0 loss.

Stoke City keeper Viktor Johansson and Burnley defender Hjalmar Ekdal also return home following Sweden's loss without any tournament minutes under their belt.

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We have reached the knock-out rounds of the World Cup but there are still plenty of players from the English Football League representing their country.

Here is where you can watch them in the round of 32:

Sunday, 28 June

• Lyle Foster, Burnley - South Africa v Canada (20:00 BST)

• Alfie Jones, Middlesbrough - South Africa v Canada (20:00 BST)

• Ali Ahmed, Norwich City - South Africa v Canada (20:00 BST)

• Cyle Larin, Southampton - South Africa v Canada (20:00 BST)

Tuesday, 30 June

• Crysencio Summerville, West Ham - Netherlands v Morocco (02:00 BST)

• Sondre Langas, Derby County - Ivory Coast v Norway (18:00 BST)

• Egil Selvik, Watford - Ivory Coast v Norway (18:00 BST)

• David Moller Wolfe, Wolves - Ivory Coast v Norway (18:00 BST)

• Hjalmar Ekdal, Burnley - France v Sweden (22:00 BST)

• Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, Derby County - France v Sweden (22:00 BST)

• Viktor Johansson, Stoke City - France v Sweden (22:00 BST)

Wednesday, 1 July

• Edson Alvarez, West Ham - Mexico v Ecuador(02:00 BST)

• Raul Jimenez, Wolves - Mexico v Ecuador(02:00 BST)

• Axel Tuanzebe, Burnley - England v DR Congo (17:00 BST)

• Edo Kayembe, Watford - England v DR Congo (17:00 BST)

• Aaron Wan-Bissaka, West Ham - England v DR Congo (17:00 BST)

• El-Hadji Malick Diouf, West Ham - Belgium v Senegal (21:00 BST)

Friday, 3 July

• Jose Sa, Wolves - Portugal v Croatia (00:00 BST)

• Zeki Amdouni, Burnley - Switzerland v Algeria (04:00 BST)

• Harry Souttar, Leicester City - Australia v Egypt (19:00 BST)

• Mohamed Toure, Norwich City - Australia v Egypt (19:00 BST)

• Cameron Burgess, Swansea City - Australia v Egypt (19:00 BST)

• Nestory Irankunda, Watford - Australia v Egypt (19:00 BST)

Saturday, 4 July

• Abdul Fatawu, Leicester City, Colombia v Ghana (02:30 BST)

Image source, Stoke City

Stoke City have appointed Jack Higgins as the club's new academy director.

The 34-year-old is a former head of education at Burnley and joins the Potters after spending the past six years as manager of the academy at League Two Fleetwood Town.

In his time with the Cod Army, Higgins oversaw the development of their academy to Category Two status in 2023.

Stoke sporting director Jonathan Walters said Higgins' experience of "building productive environments, developing players and connecting academy and first-team football" made him the "ideal person" for the job.

"Over the last few months, we have taken time to look closely at our academy structure and how we can better support the development of young players throughout the club," Walters added.

"We all recognise that the step from academy football to first-team football has become increasingly challenging in the modern game.

"Our responsibility is to make that pathway as clear and consistent as possible."

The club have also announced Sam Stockley will become head of professional development phase and take charge of the under-21 side.

Stockley has been with Stoke for the past year having spent 14 years working in youth football in the USA.

The EFL fixture list is out and we know you are bursting to know what you've got to look forward to - or dread - from your team this upcoming season.

Here are some key dates to put in your diary:

• 15 August 2026 - Swansea City (H)

• 22 August 2026 - Southampton (A)

• 26 December 2026 - Wrexham (H)

• 1 January 2027 - West Bromwich Albion (A)

• 1 May 2027 - Millwall (A)

See Stoke City's full fixture list here.

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Stoke City have announced the club's new crest has been installed at bet365 Stadium.

The Potters adopted a new design last summer following several months of consultation with fans and revealed a "phased" introduction at their home ground with similar updates to be made at their Clayton Wood training complex "over the coming seasons".

At the time the club said the idea was to produce a crest "that is truly synonymous with Stoke City Football Club and the city of Stoke-on-Trent" and offered a choice between staying with the current one or adopting a new one.

The alternative - a shield depicting a Staffordshire knot, the club's foundation date of 1863, their famous red and white stripes, and a kiln, in a nod to the area's link to the ceramic industry - received 68% of the vote.

Stoke owner and chair John Coates said the new crest showed the "history, traditions, work ethic and togetherness" of the club and the city.

"We can all look at the club crest and reflect that it truly represents what it means to be Stoke City," he said.

"We are determined that our new crest will come to represent a new and successful era on and off the field.

"Our supporters can be assured that, as the 2026-27 season approaches, we are all working relentlessly towards that aim."

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The EFL will reveal its fixture list for the 2026-27 season on Thursday.

Want to know who your team will face on opening day? The fixtures will be announced at 12:00 BST - but that is not all.

The draws for the group stage of the Vertu Trophy and the first round of the Carabao Cup will also take place.

So check back on 25 June to see who your team faces first, last and everything in between.

Stoke City are trying to finalise a deal for West Bromwich Albion's English goalkeeper Josh Griffiths, 24, in a move that would allow the Baggies' England youth international Tommy Simkin, 21, to head back out on loan. (Stoke Sentinel), external

For more transfer news and rumours, read Monday's full gossip column here.