Stoke City have confirmed three new additions to their U21s ranks, with Chelsea’s Edwin Andersson among those to arrive in Staffordshire.
Stoke City’s summer transfer window has seen a string of additions to Michael O’Neill’s first-team.
However, it seems the focus has been on freshening up their youth ranks too, with three new players now linking up with the Potters’ U21s side for the new campaign.
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As confirmed on the club’s official website, Swedish attacker Andersson arrives from Chelsea as one of three new signings.
Ben Kershaw, an 18-year-old midfield let go by Rochdale this summer, has also signed on. Young striker Jacob Holland-Wilkinson has joined the Potters too, signing after his departure from fellow Championship side Preston North End.
The trio will be looking to follow in the footsteps of recent first-team graduates as they bid to forge a successful career in the game, taking their next steps with Stoke City.
The path to the first-team…
Although Stoke City’s stay in the Championship has been longer than hoped, it has had benefits for the Potters.
One of those is how it has encouraged the emergence of top youngsters. Nathan Collins has since moved on to bigger things after making his breakthrough with Stoke City, while Harry Souttar also looks set for a promising future.
Connor Taylor, Joe Bursik and D’Margio Wright-Phillips are all recent examples of first-team regulars coming from the academy too.
That should give hope to Andersson, Kershaw, Holland-Wilkinson and the other existing talents in the club’s youth ranks as they bid to impress for the academy and forge a career in the senior game in the years to come.
