According to the guy who runs the official site we're announcing a signing tonight. The journalists on Twitter are saying it's a left back that no one would guess. Foreign apparently. Owen reportedly close as well. http://www.stokecityfc.com/news/article/popov-306070.aspx Dynamo Kiev star set to sign season-long loan TONY PULIS has revealed that Stoke City have made a move to sign the Dynamo Kiev full-back Goran Popov on a season-long loan deal. City expect to finalise the agreement on Monday before the 27-year-old Macedonian international heads off to join up with his national squad. Pulis has been a big admirer of Popov since he performed so well against the Potters in last season’s Europa League Group Stage and the threat he posed pushing forward led to Kiev’s late equaliser in the game at the Lobanovsky Stadium. “Goran really impressed me last season,” said City’s manager. “He’s an experienced player for his age and he has a great left foot on him. “Naturally gifted left-sided players are like gold-dust, so he will give us strength in depth down that left hand side which can only improve us.” He added: “We had him watched when he played in the Europa League against Feyenoord the other night and he did exceptionally well in that game. “Goran wants to play in the Premier League and he was impressed with us when we played the two games against them in the Europa League. “It’s a season-long loan, so we have got a good opportunity to see how he adjusts to English football before we make a commitment to signing him.” Popov, who has won 41 caps for Macedonia, joined Kiev in the summer of 2010 on a five-year contract after spells in Russian, Greek and Dutch football. Pulis also had more encouraging news of defender Robert Huth concerning his recovery from a bout of viral meningitis which confined him to hospital this week. The German international has made good enough progress to return home and is expected to make a return to light training some time in the next few days. “It’s a massive bonus that he has recovered so well because we were really concerned that it was the serious strain at one point,” commented Pulis. “He’s very weak at the moment, so it’s too early to say when he will be back. We’ll have to take it one step at a time, but he’s a tough character and I know he won’t want to miss out on the start of the season if that is at all possible.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...eal-for-Dynamo-Kiev-defender-Goran-Popov.html Pulis, the Stoke manager, will add the Macedonia international to his squad as he prepares for the Premier League curtain-raiser against Reading on Saturday. Popov, 27, impressed Stoke in last season's Europa League games against the Ukrainian club and ends Stoke's search for a specialised left-sided defender. Popov has agreed a deal for the season, with a view to a permanent move. Pulis has also held talks with Michael Owen, the former England international and Manchester United striker, and is interested in a loan deal for Blackburn Rovers' Steven Nzonzi.
I remember seeing Popov.. during the Europa games for Kiev he looked really good and has to be a far better option than Wilson who is a midfielder TONY!! Well pleased with this season long loan deal.
Stokie, think you read it here? Think N'Zonzi would suit us tbh. He's a bit tough in the tackle true, but he makes a lot of interceptions and just plays a simple 5-10 yard pass, which is ideal for us.
What's happening with the Popov deal? It's all gone a bit quiet. Is it work permit stuff or is something else holding it all up?
Smit I don't think there is a problem mate! See tonights Sentinel on-line.. the piece about Pennant is interesting to read and it mentions, Popov there too! STOKE are hoping to tie up the deal with Kiev, this is as of today Smit. Might be paperwork/permit or the like? Sincerely HOPE this does'nt go belly up now.
Cheers Potts, I know the Oatcake isn't too reliable, but there have been suggestions that the work permit might be an issue, due mainly to the fact that Macedonia isn't yet part if the EU. Hope it's not true... Bought the sentinel at lunchtime and read the article, so was hoping to hear something today.
It would appear that the deal might be off. He can't get a work permit as Macedonia are below 70 in the rankings (they're 102). Or so the story goes...
Well **** me you would think that Tony Pulis would have KNOWN that Smit? Looks like it's a non starter then. Welsh wizard That link does'nt mean anything mate. The fact that there is a Stoke badge top left is all assumptions, or is it?
Doesn't look great does it! Although Popov was a little unknown from the point of how he may perform in the Prem, the desperate need we have for a natural LB made me want the sigining - big time! Hopefully it can be rescued.
Doesn`t our club understand the rules? This is not the first time,if I remember correctly didn`t we try to sign one of Fullers mates,and they couldn`t get a work permit. Why waste time looking at players who cannot get work permits? Like Smithers I was hoping that we could sign this guy because everyone knows we desperately need a left fullback. Has anyone else seen that article on the News now website suggesting we are a very good bet at7/1 to go down this season?
... and the saga continues!! Reports suggest that Popov is still here and all is not lost. I even heard that the Sentinel story reporting the calamity has now been removed from the website. Curiouser and curiouser...
Smit Did you read it too mate? That piece in yesterday's Sentinel... Sack the numpty who reported/printed the article!
Having heard nothing on this topic for a week is the Popov deal definitely OFF. It seems that most on here think a LB is a must (along with midfielders of course) but is it only TP who thinks otherwise. I note that Man Utd have just landed a promising 23 yr old LB, there must be left backs out there somewhere but we are not being linked with anyone. Is TP to continue playing Marc Wilson out of position at LB?
Definitely need a LB but I think we need a dedicated RB aswell, with a solid back 4 Mr P can feel free to bugger around with the middle configuration which should be 2 wingers for the full 90 minutes plus a couple of players who can do joined up passing and hopefully Delap playing left behind.
WELL, according to the Sentinel tonight.. it STILL could happen. Seem's that Popov has a BULGARIAN passport.. You could not make this up could you!
Indeed Potts. Here's the full story: http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/story-16739624-detail/story.html? GORAN Popov's on-off move to Stoke City could be back on again because he has a Bulgarian passport. As Bulgaria is a member of the EU, the document allows Popov to enter England and reside here ... but not work. For that, he needs permission from the UK Border Agency and the club is now awaiting an answer for his request. That leaves Popov's proposed season-long loan move from Dynamo Kiev in limbo. But his hopes appear to have grown since last week when the 27-year-old left-back feared his dream move to the Premier League was heading for complete collapse. The Macedonian international believed any application for a work permit would fail because his country has recently dropped in FIFA's world rankings to 102. One of the FA's criteria for accepting players who require a visa to enter England is that their own country are ranked at 70 or better. But the existence of a Bulgarian passport could help Popov by-pass those criteria if the UK Border Agency back his request to work. Popov, who played against Stoke in the Europa League last season, has already trained with his prospective new club after arriving here 10 days ago determined to win his first crack at Premier League football. Speaking last week, when he believed the deal was heading for the rocks, he said: "I wanted to play against Arsenal, and also against Manchester City and Chelsea. I wanted to play against the big teams â this was my dream." But with Popov's move still in doubt, Stoke may turn to the former Tottenham left-back Reto Ziegler as a possible alternative. Reports from Italy claim Juventus are willing to let the Swiss star join Stoke for 3m euros (£2.35m). The 26-year-old, who spent last season on loan with Turkish club Fenerbahce, joined Spurs at 18 and remained on their books from 2004 to 2007. He only played a limited number of games, however, being loaned out to Wigan, Hamburg and Sampdoria before eventually joining the latter long-term and playing more than 100 games. Ziegler has played more than 30 times for Switzerland and was sent off in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales in Cardiff last October.
