Stoke City will be looking to build on flashes of promise in the Sky Bet Championship when they embark on the 2021/22 campaign.  

It’s been a tough three years for the Potters in the Championship, with Stoke never seriously mounting a push to get back to the Premier League despite a talented pool of players.

Nevertheless, there’s been enough to like about Michael O’Neill’s side this season.

Yes, they might sit mid-table, but that’s an improvement on the last couple of years and they aren’t a million miles from a play-off candidate.

O’Neill, though, has to ensure that Stoke have a good summer transfer window and get in the personnel to get them into contention for a top-six berth.

With that in mind, we take a look at the potential XI we might see next season at the bet365 Stadium:

It’s going to be interesting to see who O’Neill ends up settling on as his go-to goalkeeping option next season in the Championship.

Davies, though, could be the best choice for the Potters next season as the 28-year-old hurtles towards his peak years.

O’Neill plans on looking at the goalkeeping situation in the summer, but Davis has actually proved to be a safer pair of hands than Angus Gunn recently and that should give him confidence in the former Barnsley man.

A new goalkeeper might well be on the radar in the summer, but you wouldn’t back against Davies holding off whatever competition arrived.

The 29-year-old has made 33 appearances for the Potters this season in the Championship and will still have 12 months remaining on his contract in the 2021/22 campaign.

You would think that he could be someone that O’Neill carries into next season, given his experience and the fact he won promotion previously with Huddersfield Town.

Of course, you’d be looking for an increased output from right-back, but in terms of a steady head in the Championship, he’s solid enough.

It’s hardly going to be a position of priority in the summer so long as Smith sticks around and backs O’Neill’s project.

Souttar may well attract Premier League interest this summer, but the same will be said of fellow centre-back, Nathan Collins.

Going into the summer, Stoke can maybe afford for one of their young centre-backs to move on and, in this instance, we’ve gone for Collins.

That would mean it is essential that Souttar stays on the books at the bet365 Stadium and offers up the type of performances he has this season for the Potters.

He’s good already, but at 22-years-old, he is going to get even better and Stoke can really benefit from that in the coming years.

You would love to include Collins here and back Stoke to go into the new season with a really exciting centre-back pairing that could go right to the top, but as mentioned before, something might well give with the youngster.

That would leave Danny Batth as Souttar’s partner in the heart of defence.

You might well see a new name come in, but Batth is not a bad option, particularly given his experience and how he could well aid Souttar’s development, just as he has been doing for a number of games this season.

O’Neill might be blessed with another option at centre-back by the time the new season comes around, but backing this pair and working closely with them, could still lead to success.

Tymon has featured on 24 occasions in the Championship this season, with 14 of those outings coming in the starting XI.

O’Neill has to offer him a chance to build on that in 2021/22, and he could well complete an exciting looking defensive unit at the bet365 Stadium next season.

At 21, he’s another player that has so much room to grow and, like Souttar, lining him up alongside your experienced players like Batth and Smith could well bring out the best in him.

It’s important that Stoke strike the balance between experience and youth next season, with this defensive unit a perfect way of doing just that, even without Collins.

Allen has stuck with Stoke for three seasons in the Championship and he will be contracted to another campaign in 2021/22.

The Welsh international has played at such a high level and O’Neill will surely fancy keeping him at the hart of this side.

Injury free and with the right players around him, Allen could have a real impact on this team, not just in terms of his quality as a footballer, but also what he brings in terms of experience and leadership.

That’s invaluable in any side that’s going to be successful in the Championship and O’Neill will know it.

Paterson has been linked with a move to the bet365 Stadium, with Football Insider claiming that Stoke are one of many clubs interested in signing the current Bristol City player.

The 29-year-old is better known as more of a forward-thinking player, but he’s got enough ability and knowledge of the game to step into a slightly deeper position and dictate play with good players around him.

In this set-up he could thrive, with some real quality around him in the midfield and some good attackers playing slightly ahead of him.

Heading towards his 30s, a more responsible role in a Stoke side looking to crack the play-offs could be really, really appealing.

Clucas is another player that’s got real quality and could make up part of this exciting midfield trio.

2020/21 has been tough for him and in a stop-start campaign he’s struggled to get going like Stoke have needed.

Again, stick the right players around him and get him free of injury playing a decent brand of football, he slots into most teams in the division.

Stoke will want to retain him and get the best out of him. The 30-year-old could be essential for O’Neill as he looks to build something successful at the bet365 Stadium.

Powell is still probably the most individually talented player on the Stoke books.

The 27-year-old has scored 12 goals this season in the Championship and matched that with a further three assists, outperforming the numbers he managed to post in 2019/20.

A season without injury has helped him to do that and, simply, there’s no way you can leave him out of the Stoke side if he’s available next season.

A busy trio behind him in the midfield mean he can have a free role to express himself and, hopefully, build on this season’s impressive numbers.

O’Neill will want X-Factor from someone and Powell can provide that.

Windass is another player that has recently been linked with a move to Stoke City.

Again, Football Insider have claimed that the Sheffield Wednesday forward is of interest to Stoke.

Looking at Windass’ recent form, it is easy to see why too.

The forward has scored nine goals and registered five assists this season for the struggling Owls, really stepping up to the plate when Wednesday have needed him in recent weeks.

He’s got three goals in his last five appearances and is starting to show that he can be prolific in the Championship.

With this type of firepower behind him, he could be a really shrewd signing for Stoke.

Campbell was having a superb season before a knee injury halted his campaign back in December.

In the opening 16 fixtures of the Championship season, the 21-year-old had scored six goals and registered five assists, looking like the man that could potentially fire Stoke into play-off contention.

Next year he will be back from injury and, if he can pick up where he left off, he will be the man tasked with going on and getting 20 goals in this team.

With Powell and Windass potentially chipping in behind him, this trio could prove to be a really strong attacking unit in the Championship.