Rudge off on Euro scouting trip

John Rudge is off to catch a few Euro 2008 matches as he continues to hunt for new players for Stoke.

The Potters’ Director of Football doesn’t expect many signings until after the Euro competitions are over, but has said that several foreign players are interesting the Potters and that some are interested in coming to play for Stoke City.

He did warn that expectations should not be raised too high. He told Radio Stoke: ‘We won’t get anyone from the top sides like Germany but there may be a chance to attract one or two from the other countries.’

Stoke have yet to sign any new players, but continue to be linked to, it seems, every player that is or wants to play in the Premier League. One reason for the delays may be that many players are still away on their summer holidays. With pre-season training not starting for most clubs until the first or second week of July (the Stoke players are not due back until July 10th) we may be forced to wait until towards the end of this month before we see any movement on the transfer markets.