Stoke legend Denis Smith says club should sign players like Aston Villa’s Glenn Whelan – what about the man himself?
Stoke City legend Denis Smith has had his say on what the club’s recruitment needs to be this summer following relegation from the Premier League.
The Potters are preparing for life in the Championship for the first time in a decade next season and Smith has held up former midfielder Glenn Whelan as the kind of player the manager needs to be targeting.
“Loads of people didn’t like Glenn Whelan but he was brilliant because he did his job perfectly. You don’t need or want him to do drag backs or step overs, he did his job consistently – and he was one of those who would dig out those who didn’t in the changing room,” the 70-year-old, who spent 14 years in the Stoke first team, told Stoke on Trent Live.
“You need those kind of people in the club.”
Whelan arrived at the Bet365 Stadium from Sheffield Wednesday the January before the Staffordshire club were promoted to the English top flight in 2008.
The Republic of Ireland international spent nine years in their first team before leaving to join Aston Villa in 2017 for a fee of £1m (BBC).
Whelan has played a big part in Villa’s subsequent run to the playoffs, where they face Middlesbrough over two-legs in the semi-finals, making 33 appearances and could help them back to the top tier.
If they are promoted, there is a chance that the 34-year-old could be allowed to leave Villa Park and if the Potters want a ‘Glenn Whelan-type’ then why not the man himself?
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