For a long time now Stoke City have had a reputation as the physical and brute force that every team hated to face.

Former boss Tony Pulis built up a side with a strong, physical presence, who concentrated on unflattering direct long ball tactics and, of course, that ridiculous Rory Delap throw in.

Players like Robert Huth, Jonathan Walters and Kenwyne Jones were some of the stars of the side because of their large physical characteristics.

The Potters were an established Premier League side under Pulis, a great achievement on its own, but they were a club moving sideways, languishing in the bottom half of the table season after season.

When Mark Hughes replaced Pulis in 2013 he promised a complete transformation from top to bottom, and he has certainly delivered.

Stoke have finished in 9th place in the previous two seasons – their best ever position in the Premier League – and it has all been down to Hughes’ master plan.

The club have transformed themselves from long ball specialists to a side comfortable on the ball that look to play attacking possession football similar to that of many of Europe’s best sides including Barcelona.

Hughes has implemented his plan through some brilliant transfer business. The Welshman has revamped the playing staff at the Britannia Stadium, removing many of the less technically gifted players and replacing them with players who look to get the ball on the floor and play a positive, passing style of football.

He also looks for players that have a point to prove, where they have not been able to establish themselves at their previous sides but are extremely talented with a great deal to offer.

It all started off with the likes of defender Marc Muniesa, who joined from Barcelona on a free transfer and he has been followed by a number of technical talents including Stephen Ireland, Marko Arnautovic and Erik Pieters.

Last summer the Stoke boss pulled off a real coup when he managed to land Spanish attacker Bojan, again from his former side Barcelona. The little striker consistently impressed with his technical brilliance and creative flair before a serious injury ruled him out for six months.

There is hope he can pick up where he left off before his injury and take Stoke even further up the table.

This season he is going to be joined by more star names following a number of impressive Hughes signings, including Marco Van Ginkel, who joins on a season-long loan from Chelsea after turning down a number of Europe’s elite sides.

They are also joined by Ibrahim Afellay. The Dutch winger becomes the fourth ex-Barcelona player to join the side and, similar to his former team mate Bojan, is a real coup for the Potters.

Afellay is a very talented footballer, he possesses great skill and creative ability and would be playing for a top European side if he hadn’t of had a number of injuries hold him back.

The Dutch international is looking to put his injury troubles behind him and showcase the talents that Barcelona saw in him. Plus, by joining on a free transfer, it’s a no lose situation for Stoke.

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It is not just the players that Stoke City are signing that should be impressing people, though. The club have shown some incredible ambition in who they are targeting, even if it doesn’t always prove successful.

Xherdan Shaqiri, Yevhen Konoplyanka and Andriy Yarmolenko have all been pursued and although they all turned the side down, it is a sign of just how far they have come under Hughes. It wasn’t that long ago that these players were being linked to top sides like Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal.

There is also talk that the side will be making a move for Juventus striker Fernando Llorente. A striker who in recent weeks was heavily touted as Louis Van Gaal’s ‘special’ transfer target at Manchester United.

The Potters are a side on the up and you can be sure that there will be more household names on their way to Staffordshire in the near future.

Aaron Lennon did not play for Everton between February and the end of October after struggling with injury and a host of off-the-field issues.

The 30-year-old was detained by police under the Mental Health Act in May due to concerns over his welfare.

It has been a tough few months for the former England international, but he has now played in each of Everton’s last nine Premier League matches.

The attacker has started to show the type of form that once made him one of the most dangerous wingers in the Premier League, and it is brilliant to see him back on the field.

Lennon, who is valued at £4.5m by transfermarkt.co.uk, played a key role in Everton coming from behind to beat Swansea City on Monday night, and after the match the attacker revealed that he was pleased with his form.

It was a view shared by the Everton supporters, who have been out in force to hail the former Leeds United youngster for turning his career with the Toffees around.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has not had the smoothest of rides at Manchester United.

The Armenian international had to fight his way into Jose Mourinho’s first XI in his first season following a switch from Borussia Dortmund in 2016.

The winger eventually earned a run in the team and he started this season positively, but as the weeks went on, he dropped out of the team again.

In fact, Mkhitaryan has not completed a full game since October when he played in United’s 1-0 win over Benfica in the Champions League.

In a recent report by The Telegraph, it was claimed that the winger could be used in a player-plus-cash deal with Arsenal, which would see Alexis Sanchez move the other way to Old Trafford.

Widespread media outlets have suggested that the process is not straightforward and there has been no official word about whether or not the deal will go ahead.

Former United star Dwight Yorke believes that Mkhitaryan could wipe the slate clean if he goes to Arsenal.

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The retired footballer told talkSPORT:

“Don’t forget, Mkhitaryan was in really exceptional form earlier on this season. For some reason in the last few months he’s fallen out of favour. Maybe it’s a lack of form or a lack of confidence he showed earlier on this season.

“But an Arsenal type of player – he’s got quality, and we’ve seen that at Old Trafford, but he’s sort of lost his way here. A new start in London, playing for Arsenal – it might be the key factor in him going.”

As reported by The Daily Record, Rangers star Josh Windass is a target for English Championship side Leeds United this January.

The link comes after the Ibrox side previously rejected a £500,000 offer from Preston North End for his services.

The interest is likely due to Windass’ impressive first half of the season in which he’s scoring six goals and assisted five times in 21 Scottish Premiership appearances.

The versatile attacker certainly appears to be enjoying life at Ibrox and The Record even notes he’d rather stay and fight for his place in Graeme Murty’s side than move back to English football, where he shone with Accrington Stanley in League Two.

Murty spoke earlier this week about how he’s hoping to tie the likes of Windass down to a new contract, so it certainly appears the player is in his plans.

Supporters are in no rush to see him leave either, with many feeling he’s upped his game to acceptable levels this season after a disappointing debut year in which he failed to score a single Premiership goal.

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They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his potential departure…

Manchester Untied are now a massive 15 points behind English Premier League leaders Manchester City after Tottenham Hotspur ended their eight game unbeaten streak in the top-flight on Wednesday night at Wembley.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side defeated the Red Devils 2-0 thanks to a Christian Eriksen effort just 11 seconds into the match and a first half Phil Jones own goal.

It was a difficult result for supporters to take, especially as it was coupled with an under-par performance across the 90 minutes.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom with some fans finding positives in the performance of new signing Alexis Sanchez.

The Chilean was making his Premier League debut for the side after playing against Yeovil in the FA Cup and was one of the team’s top performers in the match, working harder than almost anyone else.

After his big money move from Arsenal, fans are hopeful he can make a bigger impact in the weeks and months to come when his new side can put together a better team performance.

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They took to Twitter to discuss his Wednesday night display…

Tottenham Hotspur recovered from a disastrous start and finding themselves 2-0 down to salvage a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Champions League knockout tie against Juventus in Turin on Tuesday night, and Spurs fans loved Mousa Dembele’s display in the middle of the park.

The 30-year-old, rated at £16.2m by Transfermarkt, has sometimes struggled to appear consistently on the pitch because of injury, but he has now shone against Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and the Serie A leaders in the last few weeks.

The Belgium international dominated the midfield area, dictated the play and showed that he could bring the ball forward into space as well, and it didn’t go unnoticed by the north London outfit’s faithful.

Tottenham supporters were quick to take to social media to have their say on his performance, and while one said “he’s better than I’ve ever seen him”, another said “there is no finer midfielder in Europe than Dembele when he’s in this form”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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With Luke Shaw and converted winger Ashley Young sharing the role this season, Manchester United need a long-term solution at left-back. Jose Mourinho still doesn’t appear to completely trust the former, while the latter’s ability to hold down the No.3 slot beyond this campaign, replicating a level of form that has been majestic at times this season, remains a contentious issue.

The idea of Danny Rose moving to Old Trafford has persisted this season, but no deal happened in January and the England international’s injury problems may put off Mourinho, especially as the Tottenham defender will turn 28 before the start of 2018/19. Considering the relentless energy required from full-backs these days too, buying young has an obvious logic to it.

And upon an FA Cup weekend in which Rose struggled to have a telling impact during Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Rochdale, Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell – in contrast, one of the Foxes’ best performers as they saw off a resilient Sheffield United side – stood out as a viable alternative. The 21-year-old has been mooted as one of English football’s more exciting young defenders for some time and has been linked with moves to the Premier League’s top clubs before.

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They will have taken note of a dynamic display on Saturday that saw the England U21 combine solidity in defence with real purpose in attack, balancing out three tackles and three interceptions – the most of any Leicester player on both fronts – with four created chances and six successful dribbles. And tellingly of how influential he was, Chilwell finished up with the most touches of the ball of any player on the pitch.

No doubt, the Blades made it somewhat facile for Chilwell, partaking in a rear-guard that saw them record just one shot on target and allow him time on the ball. But the performance was nonetheless a glimpse into Chilwell’s potential, highlighting how influential he can be in possession while remaining sturdy off the ball.

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Transfermarkt value the young full-back at just £2.7million, although United could easily end up paying something near ten times that sum considering the relentless inflation in transfer fees in recent summers, coupled with the fact his contract doesn’t expire until 2021.

But it could be a wise investment that saves United money in the short and long-term, with The Daily Mail mooting Rose as a £50million acquisition back in December. So, United fans, which left-back would you like to see the Red Devils move for this summer? Let us know by voting below…

Ahead of this weekend’s trip to Anfield, we asked Newcastle fans who they thought should get the nod in the centre of the Newcastle midfield after Jonjo Shelvey suffered a knee injury at Bournemouth which will likely rule him out for Saturday.

Shelvey has founded a vitally important partnership with Mo Diame at the heart of Rafael Benitez’s formation this season, and the Magpies don’t exactly have strength in depth at the position.

Isaac Hayden is one option for Benitez, but the versatile defender-cum-midfielder has only played one league game so far in 2018 and has been fighting to get back in the side to such an extent that he lost a tooth in midweek when going up for a ball in training.

But 68% of Newcastle fans who took part in our poll think that Spaniard Mikel Merino, valued at £9million by Transfermarkt, is the man to fill Shelvey’s void. Check out the full results of our poll below:

How would you line up the Magpies at Anfield, Newcastle fans? Let us know by commenting below..

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With the games coming thick and fast for the Premier League’s top six, Jürgen Klopp could have a fully fit squad to choose from against Newcastle on Saturday.

Klopp has made more changes than any other Premier League manager this season, and it seems his rotation policies may be paying off. When the Reds welcome Newcastle to Anfield this weekend, Klopp should use the opportunity to give Adam Lallana just his second start of the season.

The English midfielder, capped 33 times, has been out most of the season since injuring his hamstring in preseason. He started the reds New Year’s Day victory at Burnley, but has been unable to force his way back into the team.

Now, with qualification to the next round of the Champions League surely secured and a trip to Old Trafford to come next weekend, Lallana’s experience and versatility could come in handy.

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The 29 year-old has struggled when deployed on the wing for Klopp’s men, but could offer respite to one of the midfield three this weekend. Given that Emre Can is just one yellow card away from being suspended for the clash with Manchester United, it would not be a surprise to see Klopp rotate his midfield once again.

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Lallana offers the creativity and relentless pressing that could unlock a deep lying Newcastle defence, and will be desperate to prove he deserves more chances in the team.

So, Liverpool fans, should Adam Lallana get the nod on Saturday? Let us know by voting below…

Liverpool did a lot of things right against Manchester United but were undone by repeated attacks down their right flank, with Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku and Juan Mata overloading that side of the pitch to create the two goals that eventually won the match 2-1.

One reason United had so much joy down that avenue was the struggles of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The young right back – valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt – has enjoyed an impressive season but Saturday’s match was a harsh lesson for the Scouser as Rashford was United’s most potent threat.

For Liverpool’s next match, against Watford, Jurgen Klopp has a decision to make. He has Joe Gomez in reserve, another young Englishman who has enjoyed an impressive campaign, and he is more defensively secure.

Obviously, the Hornets pose a different kind of threat to United, which will come into Klopp’s thinking but it is important to also consider how Alexander-Arnold’s confidence will have been affected by the first-half chasing he received from Rashford.

That’s why we’re asking you the question; who should the Reds start at right-back on Saturday?

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