Making Stoke City’s new big hope: From Man City and Liverpool offers to famous dad and Ryan Shawcross.
Freddie Anderson was training with Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United at the same time when he started out playing but it’s at Stoke City that he’s found a home to unlock his potential.
Stoke City are able to make a presentation to centre-halves they want to add to their academy, like was the case with Freddie Anderson and Jaden Dixon last year.
Anderson, now aged 17, had his pick of clubs hoping to find the best pathway to becoming a professional and ‘trying to have even half the career’ of his dad Viv, the England international. He was shown around Arsenal, for example, and had a couple of days there training. It was a surprise that Dixon, also 17, was even being allowed to leave Spurs.
But Stoke managed to get to the front of the queue for both by offering them a place they could feel at home and show how they would help fulfil their potential.
A year on, Anderson, a towering 6ft 5in, scored on his first team debut, a Carabao Cup win at Carlisle, while Dixon has made four senior appearances so far this season. This week, Anderson is on standby for England under-19s, Dixon is away with England under-18s, and there are huge hopes for what will happen next. Anderson and his family have the experience to know what was best and so far it seems like they’ve been proved right.
He said: “I was actually training with Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool at the same time when I first started playing. I wasn’t signed with anyone but training seven days a week when I was eight. It got to the point when my dad said we couldn’t keep that up. Liverpool offered first but City offered after that and I preferred City and it was closer to home too.
“I can’t thank City enough actually. I played with some amazing players and some are now already playing in the Premier League. I used to train a bit with Rico Lewis, Joel Ndala who’s just got into PSV and I know is from Stoke and used to play for Port Vale.
