Derby have reportedly shown interest in reuniting with Stoke City winger Tom Ince. What has the winger been up to at the Potteries? We spoke with Ben Rowley from The YYY-Files to find out what he's been up to down the A50.
Derby have been linked with a move for Tom Ince. Can you see this happening?
Yes. Ince’s profile has dropped dramatically since the time where he justified being named in the Championship team of the decade. Part of that would be down to Stoke’s recent struggles, but his own performances within that team since joining Stoke have been far from good enough (especially to justify a £10-12m price tag). A move back to Derby would be romantic in some ways, I’m sure.
Stoke are rumoured to be signing Rabbi Matondo on loan from Schalke. If this move were to happen, does that push Ince out the door?
I wouldn’t be surprised if Ince was to move anyway, but this would certainly push Ince too far down the pecking order to justify his salary and squad number. Stoke are becoming increasingly reliant on counter attacking football and pressing; something more suited to a player like Matondo and meaning Ince is a luxury Stoke no longer require.
If Ince is available, is it down to finances, the number of players at the position or form?
All three. Stoke have plenty of high earners at the club and they will want to move on as many as they can. FFP will be slowly bearing down on the club, it’s already restricting the club’s transfer policy to free transfers and loans. Stoke also have plenty of right wingers: Tyrese Campbell, Jacob Brown and Thibaud Verlinden can all play there with Matondo also on his way. Ince has also been ineffective in a Stoke shirt: his goal contributions in the last 18 months have been unacceptable for the amount of minute’s he played last season.
Ince played 40 games for Stoke last season but has only made 8 appearance this season. Why is that?
Ince got almost 3,000 minutes in the Championship last season, yet only scored three goals and made two assists. He didn’t even get unlucky: he had an xG of 4.55 and xA of 3.04 according to infogol. In under 1800 minutes, Tyrese Campbell scored nine goals and got two assists as a 20 year old in his debutant Championship season last term. Campbell went onto replace Ince on the right wing in 2020/21 and got six goals and five assist in 1200 minutes before his injury.
What has Ince’s form been like this season?
He’s simply not had the chance to play. Stoke have been doing very well this season without him and they’ve been playing in a way which keeps him out of the team. Even with the injury to Tyrese Campbell, Stoke moved to a 352 formation in which Ince has no place in the team. Again, Stoke are moving to a style of play which does not suit Ince. Arguably, we’ve not been playing with a style that suits him since Gary Rowett signed him in 2018.
Can you sum up Ince’s Stoke City career?
Disappointing. We expected to get promoted back to the Premier League since relegation and Ince was supposed to be a critical catalyst of that. Players like him underperforming are the reason why that ambition was never fulfilled. His confidence is shot and his sharpness is even worse. Ince’s Stoke career looks doomed, perhaps doomed from the start.
Do you think a change of scenery back to Derby would help reignite his career?
Perhaps, Ince still has time in his career to get back to the level that he once was at in the Championship which demanded such a big fee for Stoke to pay for his services. If he can get around some limiting factors in his play (namely one-footedness and hesitance) then he can be very successful at a new club. Maybe a place like Derby, where he’s succeeded before, is right for him at this stage in his career.
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