Stoke City are currently struggling to get going under Nathan Jones as the Potters have made a slow start to life in the Championship.

Despite some summer signings being brought into the club as Jones continues to try and change the club's ethos following their relegation from the Premier League in 2018, Stoke continue to look anything like a team who are going to challenge for promotion.

However, according to a report from the Metro, things might have been different for the club had they completed a remarkable transfer coup back in 2014.

The report claims that Stoke came close to landing current Arsenal star Granit Xhaka, with Borussia Monchengladbach's sporting director revealing how close the Polish midfielder was to making a move.

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"Granit’s career in the first 18 months at Gladbach did not run [as smoothly] as sliced bread,’ Eberl told the Rheinische Post. He was almost ready to be loaned to Stoke and I told him. 'If you go to Stoke now, you’ll never end up at a big club – but you could.”‘

Xhaka ultimately ended getting a permanent move to Arsenal where he once again struggled to get off to a fast start, but he has since grown into the Premier League and is a key squad member under Unai Emery.

While it is obviously hindsight to assume that Xhaka would have made any difference to Stoke's path to relegation from the top flight, it highlights once again just how close clubs can be to landing top players which could end up being difference makers.

The Verdict

There's no reason to believe Xhaka would have kept Stoke up but he would have made a difference for sure, and you never know the chain of events what might have followed.

Stoke have struggled so badly in the Championship and Nathan Jones will be desperate to turn it round.

But they need to start winning and quickly before Jones finds himself under pressure in what is one of the toughest but more attractive jobs in the Championship.