Stoke City signing talks about summer rumours and the ‘unreal’ environment
Stoke City news from StokeonTrentLive, including an examination of new acquisition Junior Tchamadeu.
Stoke City has made a new signing. Junior Tchamadeu is excited to make his Stoke debut after seeing what to anticipate at the bet365 Stadium.
The 19-year-old right back joined Stoke from Colchester just before the transfer deadline, signing too late to be eligible for Saturday’s home game against Preston. But he was there, and despite the fact that the 2-0 loss destroyed Stoke’s pristine home record of four wins from four, he was taken aback by the event.
“The atmosphere was one of the best I’ve seen,” he remarked. I’ve played in some terrific League Two stadiums, with Bradford being the loudest. But the stadium on Saturday was incredible, and it excites me to be able to perform in front of them.”
Stoke City return from the international break to face Norwich City at Carrow Road on September 16, Huddersfield Town on September 20, and Hull City on September 24.
We’ll have to wait and see how long the teenager takes to settle in with Stoke and Championship football, but his resume shows he’s a quick study. He made his Colchester debut at the age of 16 and has now made 95 professional appearances, giving enough talent to be named League Two’s young player of the year and earning a spot in the divisional team of the year.
He is humble about his achievements, however, and is looking forward to the challenge at Stoke. “I am not naive to believe it will be the same as League Two,” he remarked. I understand that it is a significant leap. But I always believe in myself and my abilities, and I am ready to give my all in every session and chance.
“I have to keep my feet on the ground. You won’t get far in life unless you stay grounded. You simply have to keep a level mind no matter how good you are doing and make sure that wherever you go next, you still have that level head, that same passion and ambition to perform at 100% and give 100%.”
Tchamadeu has signed a four-year contract with Stoke for an unknown amount, putting an end to a summer of speculation about a move.
That had to be distracting, but the child was adamant that it wouldn’t influence his performance. “It was difficult because Stoke is a huge club, so I was very happy to hear they were interested,” he remarked. At Colchester, it was all about me continuing to give my all. It was about working hard every day and then seeing if it was meant to be. It was in this case.
“It was an incredible feeling.” Of course, the interest continued, making me feel wanted, which was quite important to me. It demonstrated the club’s determination to complete the task. They didn’t give up, which I greatly appreciated.”
The teenager certainly departs Colchester on good terms. “Junior has had a really good spell here, to get into the team so young, do what he did and go on and have the appearances he did and the individual accolades last season,” their head coach Ben Garner told the Colchester Gazette.
“Everyone at the club is overjoyed for him to get that move.
“He’s happy with it, we’re happy with it, and we wish him the best of luck and hope to see him go on and have a really promising career.”
