Stoke: De Laet’s a Red Devil

Potters’ reserve defender, Ritchie De Laet has left the club and joined Manchester United.

De Laet never played for the first team since joining from Belgium club, Royal Antwerp eighteen months ago but spent a period on loan this season at Wrexham. In a odd twist of fate, he’s following the same path trod by the Red’s reserve keeper and another former Stoke player, Ben Foster. He also never made it to the first team and was spotted by Alex Ferguson whilst on loan at Wrexham.

Foster has since gone to earn a full England cap and is tipped as a likely candidate to eventually take over the number 1 jersey at Old Trafford and so let’s hope that this is the catalyst that helps Ritchie’s career take off as well.

It’s not been disclosed whether there was any transfer fee involved for the 21 year old, but Stoke say that they have agreed a ‘performance related payment package’.