We catch up with some of the Stoke City youngsters to leave the club in recent years.
Former Stoke City youngster Alex Grant is now playing his football down under.
The centre-back signed for the Potters as a 19-year-old from League Two Portsmouth in 2013, but failed to break into the first-team during his two-year stay. Grant is currently a regular in Kenny Lowe’s Perth Glory side, who play in the A-League.
Charlie Ward has also decided to take his talents abroad in his post-Stoke career. The midfielder left the bet365 Stadium in 2015 and was picked up by American second tier side Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. Ward’s side begin their 2017 campaign against in-state rivals San Antonio FC at the end of next month.
Smajl Suljevic, Karim Rossi and Kevin Gomez-Nieto are all playing their football abroad.
Suljevic has returned to Sweden after playing in Stoke’s academy for a year. He spent last season on-loan at IK Frej, but has since gone back to his parent club GIF Sundsvall.
Rossi has also returned to his native league with second division Swiss side Lugano. The forward had spells with Hull City, Zulte Waregem and Spezia before joining the three-time Super League champions.
Gomez-Nieto’s short stint in England ended with a move to Helmond Sport in the summer of 2015. He now plays for amateur Dutch side SVV Scheveningen.
Louis Molt and Ben Heneghan are plying their trade closer to home with Motherwell.
Both men had spells in the lower divisions of English football before signing for the Steelmen. Heneghan, who joined Motherwell in the summer, has endured a torrid time at the heart of defence in recent weeks. His side have shipped 20 goals in their last 4 outings, including a 5-1 defeat to Dundee last weekend.
Moult got on the scoresheet in that 5-1 drubbing to continue his impressive run of 11 goals in 22 games for the Well.
Florent Cuvelier, Matthew Lund and Jamie Ness are among the former Potters youngsters to be playing in League One.
Cuvelier spent three years at Sheffield United following his departure in 2013. After failing to make an impression for the Blades, the midfielder joined fellow League One side Walsall in the summer. He has featured 19 times for Jon Whitney’s side during this campaign.
Lund has scored six goals from midfield for Rochdale this season, including a hat-trick in the 3-2 win over Northampton Town at Sixfields. He has been missing in recent weeks due to an injury.
Stoke signed Ness, then a 21-year-old, from Rangers in 2012. He spent time on-loan at Leyton Orient and Crewe Alexandre, but couldn’t force his way into the Potters’ senior squad. He has featured four times this season for automatic promotion contenders Scunthorpe United.
If Ness does win promotion, he could be up against ex-Stoke academy graduate Ryan Shotton next season. Shotton has played 30 times for Birmingham City during this campaign.
Meanwhile, Ryan Brunt is fighting to comeback from a torn ACL that has kept him out for over 11 months. The Plymouth Argyle forward is hoping to play again before the season is over.
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