It was three years ago this week when Stoke City, in a mad scramble heading towards the end of the January transfer window, turned their attention to Charlie Cresswell, the son of Stoke promotion winner Richard.
Alex Neil was looking for a deadline day replacement for Leicester City-bound Harry Souttar, which he hadn’t expected to happen even a couple of days previously.
Cresswell, then aged 20, had been on loan at Millwall from Leeds United that season – and had actually scored on the opening day, against Stoke – and it was a deal that genuinely had legs as the clock ticked towards end of business.
There were lots of spinning plates. Stoke were also exploring moves for Nottingham Forest’s Steve Cook and Peterborough United prospect Ronnie Edwards, who are actually now playing together at Queens Park Rangers.
In the end, they managed to seal a loan for Manchester United’s injury-battered Axel Tuanzebe, who wouldn’t be fit to start a league game until March 10 and then played two more matches before being ruled out for the rest of the season. He was good, he just wasn’t available to play.
Cresswell impressed against Stoke a few weeks later, with Neil referring to him as “probably the most aggressive centre-half in the division”, and he remained on the Potters’ radar that summer. Instead, that time they plunged for free agent Michael Rose, loanee Luke McNally and, eventually, emergency signing Ciaran Clark.
There was another link with Cresswell in January 2024 after Steven Schumacher had taken over as manager and the defender was kicking about on the fringes at Elland Road. Nothing again.
By the summer of 2024, Stoke were under different management and didn’t have many coins to rub together. Cresswell ended up signing for Toulouse for an undisclosed fee believed to be about £3.8m. He has been a big hit in France, playing regularly, attracting suitors from Germany and England.
Wolfsburg are believed to have had a £23 million offer rejected, a £21m bid from a Premier League club has been scoffed at and Sky Sports claim that Toulouse are holding out for £30m. There might be a rush to get him in the next few days or the saga could extend into the summer window.
Brighton, West Ham United and Crystal Palace and “several other clubs in the Premier League” are believed to be ready to fight for the centre-half. A potential England senior international in the making and a sliding doors moment for Stoke.
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