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Stoke City midfielder Oghenekaro Peter Etebo is being linked with a move away from the bet365 Stadium ahead of the January transfer window.
Reports in France claim Turkish side Besiktas and Spanish outfit Eibar could be potential destinations for the 24-year-old in the New Year.
The report claims that Etebo is expected to leave the Potters in January, with Besiktas and Eibar both making offers to the player.
Etebo joined Stoke from Feirense in the summer of 2018, and has been a regular figure in the Potters midfield since his arrival.
After featuring for Nigeria in the World Cup in Russia, Etebo has made 51 appearances for Stoke, netting two goals in the process.
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So far this season, Etebo has made 15 appearances without scoring, and is yet to feature under new manager Michael O’Neill after suffering from a thigh injury he picked up in October.
It’s now common knowledge that O’Neill is keen to move players on next month to create room on both the wage bill and in the dressing room.
And Stoke would sanction as many as half-a-dozen departures to light a bloated squad.
2 Comments
May God bless this move away. How on earth did such bundle of talent find his way to Stoke of all places beats my imagination. Foreign footballers n especially nigerians must try understand that there are places/ club sides in UK, that are a massive no no…Stokes, Leicester ( forget that ndidi is playing, that’s because they haven’t found some English boy,close to his qualities), Brighton, Burnley, Aston villa, etc… Going to these clubs will need you to be playing at a level that the top five teams in the world will need for you to be appreciated. Then I ask, why won’t I rather go to those top five teams then or better still, champions League teams.
Blessing in Disguise?
As Stoke City languish in the bottom half of the English Championship table, new manager Michael O’Neil appears to have a plan to turn things around.
This seems to include showing some players the exit door in January with speculations rife that our Peter Etebo is one of those earmarked for exit!
But why Etebo?
The Nigeria international has had injury issues recently but that is hardly a reason to add him to the no-longer-wanted list.
Perhaps Etebo has been a failure in Stoke.
For that to be the case, a lot of fans (those who pay to watch their clubs with emotional commitments over many years) will have to voice their opinion about this.
However, judging from fans’ reactions, Etebo appears to be something of a fans-favourite in the once-upon-a-time Premier League Club.
The views of fans (on the rumours of Etebo’s exit) sampled on social media be stokecentinal.co.uk reads:
P. SILVESTER: “Shame if he goes. One of our better players!”
L. BERGAMINI: “We need him to help keep us up.”
N. J. PRICE: “Unfortunately got to sell, rather see any other midfielder go than Etebo.”
Recently when coach O’Neil said Etebo was only fit enough to play with the Under 23, many Stoke fans voiced their displeasure with one saying on an online platform: “Absolutely unbelievable, he must be one of the fittest players in the squad even after a slight injury. Something odd happening there.”
Indeed something odd is happening at Stoke City (I think). Whatever views you might have about the 2016 Olympic ace, one thing is undeniable: Etebo is a committed and hardworking professional footballer.
Rather perversely, some fans will be happy that Etebo is becoming out-of-favour in the England tier 2 club.
I remember many on this platform voicing their objection to a player who just featured and did well at the World Cup in Russia last year to sign for a Championship club.
Indeed, the prayers of such fans may just be beginning to be answered as an exit from Stoke should lead to Etebo finding himself playing higher division football – where many fans believe he rightly belongs.