Stoke boss Mark Hughes bolstered his defensive options towards the end of last week by snapping up centre-half Philipp Wollscheid on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, with a view to a permanent move. The 25-year-old’s arrival was heralded by Hughes, who admitted he’s been a long-term target of the Staffordshire club:
“Philipp is a player we’ve been aware of and have been tracking for some time and he will add to the competition for places in the centre of our defence. He’s got presence, technically he is good, he has played at a high level and he has gone for big money in the past and to get a German international at relatively young age is a good deal for the club.â€
The History
Wollscheid’s career kicked off in 2007 with the German fifth division outfit SV Rot-Weiss Hasborn. After featuring for the first-team on 18 occasions, the defender made his way to FC Saarbrucken, where, despite scoring three times in 30 appearances over the 2008-09 campaign, he was released after the club was promoted to Germany’s fourth division.
Following a successful trial with Bundesliga side FC Nurnberg, Wollscheid spent a year with the reserves in order to get his tactical awareness up to scratch. He scored once in 40 appearances for Nurnberg’s second-string team before being handed his top-flight debut in 2010/11 and, after notching five times in 57 appearances, attracted a host of suitors including Bayern Munich and Leverkusen, with the latter splashing out £7m for his services ahead of the 2012/13 campaign.
The six-foot-four Wollscheid helped Leverkusen to a third-place finish in his first season, scoring three times in 40 matches across all competitions. Despite an impressive start to life in his new surrounds, the defender lost his place in the starting XI the following year and failed to find the net over 27 appearances. Having slipped down the pecking order, he opted for a loan spell with German club Mainz 05 but, after turning out on just five occasions, returned to his parent club earlier in the winter before Hughes came calling.
On the international stage, Wollscheid was handed his debut for the German national side in 2013 and has so far played twice for the reigning world champions.
The Prospects
It was somewhat telling that, in spite of his lack of experience in the Premier League, the new boy was instantly handed a slot alongside Ryan Shawcross in Sunday’s loss at Arsenal. Mark Muniesa had started each of the previous four, but despite helping the Potters to a run of just a single strike conceded in three, dropped to the bench for the 3-0 defeat.
Indeed, in spite of his side’s loss, Hughes was quick to praise Wollscheid and talked up his partnership alongside Shawcross in the heart of the back-four:
“I thought Philipp did fine. I thought it was important we got him in the team to experience the Premier League and Ryan and himself did okay. We didn’t have too many positives from the game at the Emirates but those two were a couple we can look back on and think there’s something there. We certainly feel Philipp is a good player. He’s got a good range of passing and the more games he plays will help him develop a better understanding, but for a start I thought he did fine.â€
With Hughes also hinting at a loan move away for Robert Huth and Marc Wilson tumbling down the pecking order in recent matches, it appears the path is clear for the German to nail down a run of starts in the Potters’ backline.
Certainly, with just four clean sheets all season, Hughes’ troops have hardly been the most resilient but one look at the fixture list suggests they could be poised for a turnaround – over the next nine rounds of fixtures (lei, QPR, new, MCI, avl, HUL, EVE, wba, CPL), they face just one of the current top nine teams. At a cost of 4.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Wollscheid is cheaper than Shawcross (5.4) but is less friendly on the budget than Geoff Cameron (4.2), who has started every match from Gameweek 9 onwards.
As winter Wildcards increasingly come into play, Stoke’s home/away rotating with neighbours West Brom could also be a factor. Pairing Cameron with the Baggies’ Chris Baird – who has started each of the last three – would set you back just 8.1, for example, and may persuade many to steer clear of the Potters’ new boy. If Wollscheid can vindicate Hughes’ belief in his abilities and impose himself in the opposition area, though, we may yet regard that price tag as a bargain in weeks to come.
