Analysis: The Stoke City Barcelona Pipeline

Third is squad penetration. Targeting FC Barcelona for transfer targets may seem like an uphill battle but Stoke City’s chief scout Kevin Cruickshank seems to have found a back-door to attracting the Catalans’ talent. Cruickshank cites the difficulty for young talent at Barcelona to penetrate into the first team.

“It’s so difficult for their young players to break into the first team, which makes it easier to get them from their second and third teams. We’ve always gone about things the right way.”

Stoke City’s ability to poke around Barcelona B and FC Barcelona Juvenil “A” while offering consistent starts to young talent couples well with Mark Hughes’ new style of football for Stoke and his ability to negotiate playing terms with potential players.

Next: 4. Subdued Nature