Stoke City last night completed a deal to bring Tottenham and England striker Peter Crouch to the Britannia in an “at the death” move that smashed the club’s transfer record. Crouch signed a four-year contract with the Potters paying £10 million for his services.
Often acknowledged as Harry Redknapp’s “plan B”, the Spurs boss could not offer Crouch reassurance of a starting role following the recent acquisiton of Emmanuel Adebayor on loan from Man City. As a result, Redknapp somewhat begrudgingly allowed Crouch to leave White Hart Lane.
Tottenham’s loss is Stoke’s gain and Tony Pulis will welcome a player who seems tailor-made for his outfit – a target man who will lend his height to their set-piece orientated tactics, whilst offering enough quality on the deck to foster the talents of Stoke’s wide men. Crouch was Stoke’s number one transfer target and Pulis is in doubt on what he brings to his side…
“Peter has an excellent goalscoring record at the highest level. His goals-per-games ratio for England is remarkable and he scored seven goals in 10 Champions League games for Tottenham last season which gives you an idea of his pedigree.”
Crouch joins former Spurs team-mate Wilson Palacios at the club, the Honduran midfielder also completed his move to Potteries this evening, signing a four-year deal. A third signing, Birmingham’s Cameron Jerome was also finalised before the deadline as Pulis reinforced his squad ahead of a taxing Europa League campaign.
The Stats
With a career spanning a wide array of clubs, Peter Crouch got his first break at QPR in 2000, bagging 10 goals in his first full season before moving to Portsmouth where his career and output flourished further. Eighteen goals in 24 starts for the Championship club saw Crouch earn interest from Aston Villa and his passage back to the Premier League was sealed with a £5 million move to the Midlands in 2002.
In two seasons at Villa, Crouch made just 37 appearances, scoring 6 goals, before moving on loan to Norwich and eventually on to Southampton in a permanent deal. Once again, having gained an assured starting role, Crouch showed his worth – 12 goals in 27 games in his debut season wasn’t enough to save the Saints from relegation but tempted Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez to shell out £7million to bring him to Anfield in 2005. A tumultuous three season spell on Merseyside saw Crouch fetch 19 goals in 85 league appearances as, once again, Crouch suffered from patchy form and irregular starts.
Having signed him at Southampton, Harry Redknapp then came calling for a second time as Crouch moved back to Portsmouth in 2008 for two seasons, fetching 19 goals in 76 league games. Redknapp, having moved to Spurs, then returned for Crouch again, taking him to White Hart Lane where he notched another 12 goals in 57 appearances.
The Prospects
Crouch is surely set to benefit from Stoke’s long established style of play. Along with Kenwyne Jones, he will be a prime target for the service provided by Jermaine Pennant and Matt Etherington from out wide, while Rory Delap will also be looking to exploit his height from his sling-shot throw-ins.
Crouch commands a relatively hefty Fantasy Premier League price-tag (6.9) which is unlikely to encourage investment. In addition, with fellow new signing Jerome joining the ranks, and with Europa League trips to the Ukraine, Turkey and Israel on the cards, it’s clear that rotation in the attacking positions will take place. Recent “Out of Position” candidate Jon Walters, looked good value to this point but, with increased options up front, Walters’ starting role is now under threat and, across the board, the lineup in the Stoke attack now looks uncertain.
As Pulis’ top transfer target, Crouch would seem the most likely to sustain a run of starts and Fantasy managers will be keen observers on his progress as he settles in his new surroundings.
