Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill has outlined that he plans to take a look at the situations of both Thibaud Verlinden and Harry Souttar in January, as well as looking to provide a chance for the Potters' other young players to impress over the next few weeks.
Verlinden and Souttar have enjoyed productive loan spells in League One so far this campaign, with the pair joining Bolton Wanderers and Fleetwood Town respectively in the summer transfer window, and they have both made an impact, with Verlinden scoring twice in nine games and Souttar making 15 appearances at the heart of Fleetwood's defence.
O'Neill could elect to recall both of those in the January transfer window, while he could also elect to give first team minutes to the likes of Lasse Sorensen, Julien Ngoy, Dan Jarvis and Jake Dunwoody, who have all been performing well for the club's youth teams during the first few months of the campaign.
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Speaking to the Stoke Sentinel, O'Neill revealed that he will be looking to the situations of both Verlinden and Souttar in January, as well as looking at some of the club's other young talent over the next few weeks, saying: "We are keeping an eye on all the young players out on loan - (Thibaud) Verlinden, Harry Souttar - these are lads I haven’t had chance to see.
"Even lads like Julien Ngoy, Lasse Sorensen, Jake Dunwoody, the young lad (Dan) Jarvis, we’ve not really had a chance to see them because we’ve had so many games.
"We’ve got some good young players here at the club and if they are ready we’ll give them the opportunity."
The Verdict
Considering that Stoke appear to be light on options in the wide areas, it would make sense for O'Neill to recall Verlinden from his loan spell with Bolton in January and give him a chance in the Potters' first team - and the 20-year-old has shown that he has the quality to potentially make a difference during the second half of the season.
Meanwhile, Stoke have struggled defensively so far this campaign, with the Potters shipping 30 league goals in just 17 Championship games, and considering Souttar has helped Fleetwood keep a solid shape for most of the season in League One he could be an option to recall to add some extra defensive depth to O'Neill's side.
O'Neill is also right to suggest that he will monitor the performances of the club's other young players over the next few weeks, with a number of the Potters' promising academy players performing at an impressive level so far this term - and it will be interesting to see how many of them get a first team chance this season.