Hull City’s Regan Slater has been generating a lot of interest for clubs to snatch up his signature for the upcoming Summer Transfer Window.
Slater has been a significant figure for Hull City this season, making 38 appearances in the EFL Championship.
Stoke City are one of many clubs trying to snatch up the player, having to also fight off interest from Sheffield United, Middlesbrough, and Derby County.
Who is Regan Slater?
Starting his career at the academy for the red side of Sheffield, he would sign his first professional contract in 2016, making his debut in the same season.
Much of the same would follow the season after with only two appearances being made over the campaign for The Blades.
A loan move to Carlisle United would see a drop-down to EFL League Two, but the drop would reap the benefits with 41 appearances and two goals over all competitions.
With his parent club grabbing promotion to the Premier League, another loan move would be on the cards, this time to Scunthorpe United.
At Scunthorpe, he would only go on to make 15 appearances in all competitions, not scoring bar on his debut in pre-season against Lincoln City.
A final loan move the next season would see another drop down the leagues, but only to EFL League One, signing for Hull.
34 appearances, winning the title, and the sole goal would be more than enough for The Tigers to sign the midfielder on a two-and-a-half-year deal for a minuscule transfer fee of £50k.
After a strong season in the last year of his contract, he would go on to grab both the Player’s Player and Supporter’s Player of the Year awards following his strong 2022–23 campaign.
This would see a three-year contract extension being offered and accepted, keeping the Sheffield-born player in East Yorkshire until the end of the 2025/26 season.
What this means for Stoke City
At the time of writing, Stoke will be losing three of their eight midfielders due to either contracts expiring or loans coming to an end.
Key men Lewis Baker and Jordan Thompson may see their contracts expire, and Andrew Moran will be heading back to parent club Brighton & Hove Albion.
Not only are their contracts expiring come summer, but some have generated heavy interest from clubs that would be a move forward in their careers.
Wouter Burger has been linked to Tottenham Hotspur and nearly left for FC Midtjylland in this season’s winter transfer window.
Strong competition in The Potters’ midfield has never been there for the last few seasons, and the versatility of the linked man could fill one of the many cracks in the side.