Stoke City are set to sign former West Ham United defender Aaron Cresswell on a one-year contract, as per Alex Crook.
The deal will also have the option to be extended by a further year.
Stoke City Adding Premier League Experience To Defence
Mark Robins’ side have already been hard at work this summer trying to reinforce their defence following the departure of a number of players this summer and they have seemingly beaten off a number of clubs, including Norwich City, to secure a deal for Cresswell.
Enda Stevens, Josh Wilson-Esbrand, Ashley Phillips and Michael Rose have all left the club, leaving the Potters with just four senior defenders.
Maksym Talovierov, who impressed with Plymouth Argyle in the second half of last season, has been signed for a fee of at least £1.7 million to help replace Phillips and Rose.
Cresswell can now provide competition for Eric Bocat on the left-hand side of the defence, as Wilson-Esbrand and Stevens did last campaign.
The 35-year-old has played over 300 Premier League games for the Irons and he also has substantial experience in Europe, playing a prominent role in the side that won the Europa Conference League in 2023.
However, his playing time in East London has fallen off dramatically over the past two seasons as the likes of Emerson Palmieri and even Aaron Wan-Bissaka have been preferred to the veteran on the left of defence.
As he has aged, Cresswell has been used on the left-hand side of a back three more often. Although Robins was hesitant to use three centre-backs in the final weeks of the season, even against the likes of Leeds United, Cresswell’s arrival should still provide the experienced manager with more tactical flexibility.
Writer’s View
Cresswell will likely have as big a role to play for Stoke City off the pitch as he will on it.
At 35 years of age, he lacks the physicality to be able to command the left flank week-in, week-out, but his experience means that he should be a dependable performer when called upon.
It will be his first season in the second tier of English football in well over 10 years and fans of the Championship will see a very different player to the one who made 14 assists for Ipswich Town in 2013/14.
