Stoke City boss hails ‘brilliant’ achievement as he passes on credit
Sol Sidibe, Jaden Dixon, Emre Tezgel and Tommy Simkin have been flying the flag for Stoke City on the international stage
Steven Schumacher has hailed a ‘brilliant’ week for Stoke City after watching four academy graduates play for England.
Sol Sidibe and Jaden Dixon with England under-18s over the last few days while Tommy Simkin and Emre Tezgel have been with the under-20s, where loanee Ashley Phillips was also in the squad.
Sidibe, aged 17, Dixon, aged 17, and Tezgel, aged 18, are expected to be with the Stoke first team squad tomorrow at Oxford – and are likely to get action in the cup on Tuesday if they don’t start at the weekend – while 19-year-old keeper Simkin is impressing on loan at Walsall in League Two.
Schumacher – who named Stoke’s youngest ever league starting XI going into the international break, a 1-0 win at Plymouth – is excited about their progress means for the long-term at the club.
“It’s brilliant,” said the head coach. “I’ve highlighted loads of times how well the academy has done over the last few years to bring this crop of players through who are going to make an impact in the team not just this season but in the years to come.
“We’ve got a good pathway for them here. I always say if they’re playing well enough, they’re old enough and I don’t care if they’re 17 or 32. I’m not bothered as long as they are producing what we need them to produce and so far the young lads have shone and shown everyone how good they can be. Getting that recognition to go away with the national team is credit to them and credit to everyone who has played a part in their journey.”
