Opinion: Why Stoke City should be open to another departure in this position following January business

Championship side Stoke City decided to offload Adam Davies to Championship rivals Sheffield United in January, a deal that came as a surprise to some.

Although he wasn’t exactly a hugely influential figure like Nick Powell or Harry Souttar, the Welshman was a safe pair of hands when called upon during the first half of the 2021/22 campaign and was viewed as a viable alternative to Josef Bursik.

It was especially surprising to see that he was sold to the Blades for a reported fee of £250,000, a cut-price deal that is hardly representative of his true value considering his pedigree and reliability.

Taking a step back from looking at the individual and more at the bigger picture, you can start to understand why the Potters were open to letting him go.

Not only do the second-tier side have Bursik in their ranks, but they also have Jack Bonham, the experienced Frank Fielding and Blondy Nna Noukeu available and this is why Michael O’Neill’s side were perhaps best-served cashing in on one of their assets in the goalkeeping department.

Having too many options in this position not just risks creating disharmony in the camp, but it’s also expensive and Stoke’s manager recently admitted they decided to let Davies go due to the fact he was on too high of a salary to keep around as an understudy.

But with four obvious choices still remaining at the bet365 Stadium, you almost feel there’s scope to offload another option, either permanently or on a temporary deal.

For a side needing to comply with the EFL’s profitability and sustainability rules whilst also dealing with the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s not worth having all these keepers at their disposal despite what each player brings.

Bursik looks set to be a