Purchase option revealed in Stoke City loan deal as striker ‘wants to raise level’
Pete Smith’s Stoke City notebook featuring old boy’s son on Premier League bench and a Niall Ennis update
HNK Gorica have a purchase option in the deal to sign Nikola Jojic on loan from Stoke City.
Jojic, aged 21, joined Stoke in the whirlwind summer of 2023 overseen by Ricky Martin, Alex Neil and Jared Dublin. He had broken into the Serbia under-21s and came from hometown club Mladost Lucani for a reported fee of 1.5 million euros, about £1.25m.
He made a fleeting appearance in a Carabao Cup win over Rotherham in August and was a last minute substitute in the Championship in early September in a defeat to Preston but otherwise spent the campaign around the under-21s team.
The winger returned to Serbia last summer to sign for Mladost on loan and he will now spend the rest of the campaign in Croatia, hoping to kickstart his career.
Niall Ennis finds feet at Blackpool
Niall Ennis has scored twice in his first four games on loan at Blackpool, including an equaliser last time out in a 3-3 draw with Mansfield Town.
“It’s about proving my quality and helping the team,” the 25-year-old striker, who is under contract at Stoke until 2026, told the Blackpool Gazette.
“I feel like it’s only the start; I feel like I’ve been in positions where when I get my sharpness, I should be getting more goals to help us rise up the table. I don’t think I’m too far away, it’s about getting used to my surroundings as well. It’s not just on the pitch, it’s about mentally adjusting.
“I want to be even better than I was at Plymouth, I want to raise my level and show why I helped them to get out of the league. It’s just about getting used to hitting the back of the net and playing at a level that I feel is good enough to prove that I’m one of the better players in the division.”
Stoke under-21s lose at Forest
Bosun Lawal played 90 minutes as Stoke under-21s lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in Premier League 2 last night.
Kristian Fletcher scored the only goal at the Loughborough University Stadium. There were also appearances for January signings Favour Fawunmi, Adriel Walker and Ruben Curley and game time for Darius Lipsiuc, who is spending the rest of term on loan at Walsall.
Lawal, who is building up sharpness after spending the first half of the season recovering from a back injury, played at centre-back in the first half before moving into midfield for the second.
Fletcher Jr on the bench at Manchester United
Injuries at Manchester United have prompted a first team squad call-up for Jack Fletcher, 17-year-old son of former Stoke midfielder (and Man Utd cult hero) Darren Fletcher. Fletcher Jr was on the bench for the first time in Sunday’s Premier League defeat at Spurs.
