Stoke City have once again improved their side this transfer window but their standout addition has to be Wilfried Bony, who has signed on a season long loan from Manchester City.
HARD TIMES AT CITY
The 27-year old failed to feature under new boss Pep Guardiola in Manchester City’s opening three games, effectively ending his tenure at the club, which he joined last year in a £28 million move. Playing at the same club as Sergio Aguero, you would expect to be second choice but with Kelechi Iheanacho also breaking onto the scene Wilfried Bony was finding it hard to receive regular game time in Manchester even last season.
SWANSEA’S TALISMAN
The Ivory Coast international racked up 25 goals in 54 games during his time at Swansea and was their top scorer in the 2013-14 season, when he delivered 17 Premier League goals and four assists, finishing the season with a respectable Fantasy Premier League tally of 158 points. For a mid price striker that was an excellent return on investment for those that drafted him in.
THE FINAL PIECE OF THE JIGSAW?
Stoke boss Mark Hughes has generally struggled for a regular source of goals from his strikers, with Mame Briam Diouf, Peter Crouch and Jon Walters all failing to make the cut. With the Ivoirian’s power and pace you would expect him to be first choice and play as a lone striker in front of Xherdan Shaqiri, Bojan and Marko Arnautovic in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Last season Stoke managed a mere 126 shots on target. There were only three teams last season with a worse record, Tony Pulis’ defence minded West Brom and relegated Norwich and Aston Villa.
If Bony manages to repeat his Swansea form and provide Stoke with the prolific goal scorer they have badly needed these past few seasons, a price tag of just 7.3 should ensure he is the last piece in the jigsaw of improvements Hughes has made to Stoke since taking charge in 2013.
