Stoke City boss Mark Robins suffers blow as ‘outstanding’ star set to join European champions

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Stoke City flirted with relegation last season under Mark Robins, and now the Potters are poised to lose one of their prized assets.

Stoke City survived the dreaded drop from the Championship to League One last season, and the club have since made an excellent start to the summer transfer window to remedy that next term.

Earlier in the window, Stoke signed Sorba Thomas from Huddersfield Town, who was followed by a loan move for Divin Mubama, a £2m purchase of Maksym Talovierov from Plymouth Argyle, and the signing of Premier League free agent Aaron Cresswell after his West Ham release.

Despite the positive spate of incomings, the Potters are poised for high-profile departures this summer, as EFL Analysis revealed that Stoke will let Wouter Burger leave if they “double their money” on him.

His departure would leave a big hole to fill, but first, Stoke manager Mark Robins is set for a major blow as an “outstanding” Potters star is on the verge of joining a top flight European outfit.

• READ MORE: David Moyes’ verdict on ‘determined’ Divin Mubama will be music to Stoke City’s ears

Stoke City midfielder Sol Sidibe ‘close’ to joining PSV Eindhoven

Robins will be hoping to oversee a more positive season for Stoke in the 2025/26 Championship campaign and progress up the table from last term’s 18th-placed finish.

Unfortunately for the Potters boss, he is poised to lose central midfielder starlet Sol Sidibe, as Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven are reportedly “close” to completing a deal.

After graduating from Stoke’s academy, 18-year-old Sidibe has gone on to make 21 first-team appearances for the Potters, registering two assists last season.

EFL Analysis dubbed Sidibe as one of five young Championship stars to watch out for next season, but now it appears Robins will say goodbye to the youngster.

Reporter Marc Mechnoua revealed on X (translated): “Courted by Lille, Souleymane Sidibé is getting closer to Eindhoven.

“The Dutch club has submitted several offers close to the demands set by Stoke City.

“The young French-English midfielder has already reached an agreement with PSV.”

The Stoke faithful will be gutted to see academy graduate Sidibe depart, given the potential impact he could’ve had under Robins’ tutelage next season.

• READ MORE: Plymouth Argyle fans all seem to agree as record signing joins Stoke City, it’s a ‘strange transfer’

Sol Sidibe could regret leaving Stoke City for PSV Eindhoven

Sidibe made his Stoke debut in August 2023 during an EFL Cup win over West Brom when Alex Neil was in charge.

Since then, Sidibe continued to impress until his campaign was cut short in January as a result of a back injury that curtailed his season.

In September, former Potters boss Steven Schumacher heaped praise on Sidibe after the youngster came on as a substitute in a 1-0 win at Plymouth.

He told the BBC: “Young players are doing brilliant for us,

“We are going to need them. They are going to give us that energy, that enthusiasm.

“I thought Sol Sidibe, when he came on, was outstanding.”

Sidibe’s potential is evident, but especially in light of his recent injury woes, game time is the most crucial element for his development, which will not be guaranteed at PSV after their Eredivisie title win.

Academy graduate Sidibe still has two years left to run on his Potters deal, therefore the club will be able to command a sizeable fee from PSV which will go down as pure profit on the balance sheet, helping to reinvest back into Robins’ squad.

However, from Sidibe’s perspective, the temptation of joining the Dutch giants is understandable, but it could prove to be a short-sighted decision at this tender stage of the starlet’s career.