Stoke City massively hit the jackpot with £1m star and these 5 others | OneFootball

The Potters have made some top signings over the years

Stoke City have had some top players on their books over the years, with their recent top-flight success birthing numerous club legends and cult-heroes who are all held in high regard at the bet365 Stadium to this day.

The Potters have had a turbulent few years since relegation to the Championship in 2018, but were once a top-half Premier League side, and had multiple previous Champions League winners in their squad.

Stoke were able to bring in a lot of big names as a result of their top-flight exploits, either for cut-price fees or record transfers, and the club also developed a myriad of lesser-known players that went on to become stars in their own right.

While supporters in ST4 await their next wave of success, we have taken a trip down memory lane, and picked out six great signings made by the Potters in the last 20 years, in no particular order.

Ryan Shawcross

While the word 'legend' should not be bandied around too often in regard to footballers, Ryan Shawcross is a player that it undoubtedly applies to when looking at Stoke's most iconic players in recent times.

The centre-back arrived at the Britannia Stadium in August 2007 on loan from Manchester United as the Potters looked to achieve promotion to the Premier League, and his impact was so clear that Tony Pulis made his move a permanent one for just £1m in the 2008 January window.

He soon helped Pulis' side reach the promised land, then remained at the club for the next thirteen years as a stalwart and commanding captain at the heart of the team's backline, with 453 appearances for Stoke by the time he left in 2021, as he captained his teammates from 2010 until his departure, including in the 2011 FA Cup final.

Shawcross' affinity with the Potters has, of course, continued into his retirement from playing, as he is currently the club's under-21s head-coach, and even took charge of the senior side for one game after Steven Schumacher was sacked in September.

Xherdan Shaqiri

Xherdan Shaqiri joined Stoke from Inter Milan in August 2015 for a club-record £12.5m, and soon set about winning the hearts of the Potters faithful for his standout performances in the Premier League in red and white.

The Swiss international netted numerous memorable strikes in his time in the Potteries, with 15 goals and assists each in 92 games for the club before he left for Liverpool in 2018 after he could not help Stoke avoid relegation to the Championship.

Shaqiri built a reputation in English football for his speed, trickery and brilliant ball-striking while at the bet365 Stadium, and was a key part of Mark Hughes' 'Stokealona' side that delivered some of the best football and greatest seasons ever seen at the club.

Peter Crouch

Peter Crouch is an iconic figure in English football, and while he may be most widely remembered for his exploits at international level, or his spells at Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, it was actually with Stoke where he spent the most years of his career, and made the most appearances.

After being signed for a then-club-record fee of £12m from Spurs in 2011, Crouch went on to feature heavily in the Potters' first European campaign for 36 years, and scored an outstanding goal against Manchester City in 2012, which is widely thought to be one of the best goals in both club and Premier League history.

The six-foot, seven-inch striker bagged double figures in four separate seasons during his time in the Potteries, and is Stoke's leading Premier League goalscorer of all-time, with 45 top-flight strikes for the club, as he finished with 62 goals scored in total from 261 appearances before his January 2019 switch to Burnley.

Bojan

One of the main protagonists of the Potters' 'Stokealona' days under Hughes, ex-Barcelona attacking midfielder Bojan won the hearts of City fans for his star turns and stunning forward play during his time at the club from 2014 to 2019.

Bojan had once been dubbed as the 'next Lionel Messi' during his rise from La Masia with the Spanish giants, but it was at Stoke where he probably showed the best glimpses of his undoubted ability, as he shone at the bet365 Stadium alongside Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic in both the 2014/15 and 2015/16 campaigns.

His time with the Potters was unfortunately blighted by persistent injury issues, as he eventually left the club in 2019 after loan spells in Germany and Spain with Mainz and Alaves respectively, but he has since dubbed Stoke his "second home" after enjoying some of the best football of his career in the Premier League.

Jonathan Walters

Jonathan Walters was pivotal to Stoke's good fortunes in his time as a player, and is another ex-Potter who has extended his ties with the club beyond his playing days, highlighting just how much his seven years in ST4 made an impact on his career.

Walters' £2.75m move from Ipswich Town in 2010 was not met with huge fanfare, given his lack of experience in the top-flight, but he soon set about upsetting the doubters in North Staffordshire, and was the epitome of a Tony Pulis player, with clear talent, but also a lot of hard-work, determination and grit.

Often played either as a right-winger or at centre-forward, the Republic of Ireland international bagged 62 goals in 271 appearances for Stoke before his 2017 exit, inclduding a brace in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final, and he returned to the club in February 2024 as interim technical director, with that position made permanent in April.

Marko Arnautovic

Marko Arnautovic joined Stoke from Werder Bremen in 2013 for £2m, and became one of the most instrumental players in modern times for the club, before leaving for West Ham four years later after making nearly 150 appearances during his time in the Potteries.

The Austrian international was not the most prolific in his first two years at Stoke, but was a hit with supporters for his eccentric persona on and off the pitch, and soon became one of the most dangerous wingers in the Premier League for his standout performances in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 campaigns.

Stoke certainly got their money's worth when it came to him, given the modest fee paid and the moments of magic that he conjured up during his four-year stay, but his £20m move to West Ham in 2017 did leave somewhat of a sour taste in the mouths of Potters fans, which is still felt by some today.