Mark Hughes continued his transformation of Stoke City earlier in the week with a sensational swoop for Barcelona’s Bojan Krkic. The 23-year-old signs on at the Britannia in a four-year-deal and is the fifth new face to arrive during the close-season, following Mame Biram Diouf, Steve Sidwell, Phil Bardsley and Dionatan Teixeira to the club.
Discussing the transfer with the club’s official website, Hughes couldn’t hide his delight with a move that stunned the football world when news broke last Wednesday:
“Anyone who knows European football will be aware of him as a player and the fact that he sees his future at Stoke City is really exciting and an endorsement of the Club itself. He’s desperate to prove himself in the Premier League and we’re pleased to be able to offer him that platform. The time he spends with the squad in Germany will help him settle in and will give myself and the coaches the chance to take a good look at him.”
The History
Drafted into the Barcelona youth system at just nine-years-old, the versatile forward was handed his debut for the club’s B side during the 2006/07 season and subsequently scored 10 times in 22 appearances. Stepping up to the senior side the following year, Bojan delivered 10 goals and three assists in 31 La Liga matches in a promising start to his career.
Struggling to cement a regular role amid the big-money buys, Bojan’s form dipped for the Catalan club. Whilst the following three seasons harvested a mere 16 goals and nine assists in 73 league matches, it’s worth noting that the vast majority of those appearances were severely limited – the forward was often brought on towards the end of Barca’s matches and resultantly averaged just 26.7 minutes per game.
Sold to Roma ahead of the 2011/12 campaign with a buy-back clause inserted in his contract, Bojan again failed to nail down a starting berth. Over 33 appearances for the Serie A side, he scored seven times and served up just a single assist – again, though, an average of 42.7 minutes per appearance hardly helped his cause. Loaned out to AC Milan the following season, Bojan’s three goals and two assists over 19 league games were once again hampered by a lack of regular action, with an average of just 39 minutes per match for the San Siro club.
Bought back by Barcelona for €13m last summer, Bojan was immediately farmed out to Dutch club Ajax. Over 26 league games, he chipped in with four goals and four assists, helping the club to a fourth straight Eredivisie title, but again his game time suffered – this time around, he averaged 56.3 minutes per appearance.
On the international scene, Bojan was prolific at youth level, netting 20 goals in 41 appearances for the Spain Under 17 and Under 21 sides. His inability to nail down a regular role has proved costly, though; after making his debut for Spain back in 2008, he’s failed to feature since.
The Prospects
The new boy’s willingness to move from the Nou Camp to the Britannia certainly indicates he’s likely to be handed a key role by Hughes in the campaign ahead. Set to turn 24 years old next month, his career is badly in need of some stability after seasons on the periphery and the Potters’ new possession-based approach under Hughes could reap reward.
Following years of physical football under Tony Pulis, Stoke took their time to settle last term but, as the campaign progressed, the Welshman’s tactics paid off handsomely. Just three defeats in their final 15 matches helped the Potters to a ninth place finish – their highest ever Premier League placing in Hughes’ first year at the helm.
Standing five foot seven inches tall, Bojan seems unlikely to be handed the lone striker role, with the likes of Mame Biram Diouf or Peter Crouch affording the Potters a more physical option up front. However, the Spaniard is versatile enough to offer an exciting alternative right across the attacking midfield three spots, if, as expected, Hughes retains his default 4-2-3-1 formation. This will likely see Bojan line up alongside Marko Arnautovic and Peter Odemwingie, with the new boy intriguingly fielded in “the hole” behind Diouf in his debut against 1860 Munich yesterday.
Certainly, aside from that debut year at Barcelona, his lack of overall impact could prove enough of a deterrent for would-be investors. While kindly priced across the Fantasy games (5.5 in Fantasy Premier League and 7.0 in Sky Sports), Bojan’s classification as a forward also dents his appeal, though his low cost in the FPL could catch the eye of those searching for a cheap third striker. Stoke rotate nicely with Swansea over the 38 Gameweeks for example and, pairing him with Gylfi Sigurdsson in midfield, would allow you to alternate from 3-4-3 to 3-5-2 if you intend on playing the fixtures. The Potters picked up 36 of their 50 points at the Britannia last season and are clearly far stronger in front of their own supporters.
With showdowns against only three of last term’s top eight in the first 12 Gameweeks, the opening schedule certainly suggests Hughes’ side could be quick off the mark. Bojan may need some time to acclimatise, though, and with Arnautovic and Odemwingie ending the previous campaign strongly, it looks less of a risk to opt for one of the two midfielders and assess the Spaniard’s impact.
