In a major boost to Mark Hughes, Stoke City have tied down Julien Ngoy to a long-term contract. The exciting forward has now penned a new five-year deal which is scheduled to end in 2022.
The 19-year-old Belgian prodigy was snapped up by the Potters from Belgian side Club Brugge and has been learning at the Potters academy. He burst onto the scene last season as he featured five times for the senior side.
Stoke have a number of talented youngsters coming through the academy but the 19-year-old has beaten all the names with his individual brilliance. He is one of the brightest prospects in the English league right now and the club would be happy to hold on to the player who was in demand this summer.
A clutch of clubs including the likes of Monaco expressed their interest in the player. Monaco wanted to replace Kyliana Mbappe with the youngster. The French club hierarchy believed the Belgian U-21 has all the potential to succeed the high-flying star but Stoke had the last laugh as they successfully retained him.
Now he has future his secure to some extent by pledging his long-term future with the club. It is a known fact clubs like Stoke need to produce more and more young players to cope with the pros and cons of the English football as they don’t have the money to splash on players like Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City can do a for a consistent period.
The player had been suffering from a thigh muscle injury and hasn’t featured for the Potters this term. Marcus Rashford’s success story has been somewhat a fairytale story. The young forward broke into the time at the time of Louis Van Gaal and since then didn’t have to look back as now he has made a place of his own in the starting lineup.
Ngoy can also follow the footsteps of Rashford. Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes exclaimed his happiness over the player’s development. “Julien is an exciting young talent who has made excellent progress in the last couple of years and he’s fully deserving of a new long-term deal
“It’s pleasing that another of our up-and-coming players has decided to pledge his future to the club.”
He is expected to be given a chance this season once he gets fit and it remains to be seen how he responds to this situation. Can he be the next star for the Potters?
