Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
Stoke City are preparing for the 2025/26 Championship season, aiming to not be dragged into another relegation battle, believing life with Mark Robins at the helm after a pre-season can be brighter.
It’s been a good summer transfer window for the Potters, with Maksym Talovierov’s move from Plymouth Argyle to Staffordshire perhaps their standout addition.
Sorba Thomas will also be crucial after impressing for Wales in the off-season, while Aaron Cresswell has made the switch to the Championship after his West Ham United contract expired at the end of 2024/25.
Their transfer business does not seem to be slowing down any time soon, with Stoke ready to target a star they can bring in for the low fee of £3 million.
Stoke City have made a bid for Tomas Rigo
It has been reported by Ömer Necati Albayrak, through FANATİK, a Turkish news outlet on X, that Trabzonspor are on the verge of missing out on Tomas Rigo.
They have stated that Stoke City have made a 3 million euro offer to the player’s club, Banik Ostrava.
Back in January, Ipswich Town were linked with Rigo, as were a number of Serie A sides. No move materialised at that time; now it appears the Potters are set to jump in, steal the player away and bring him to Staffordshire.
Rigo may be the exact player Stoke need to push the team on as they look to make a return to the Premier League after their relegation in 2018.
The 23-year-old has spoken previously about how he enjoys playing fast, expansive, attacking football. He’s a player who is able to dictate the flow of the game and form the bridge between defence and attack, an important piece of any modern football team.
Slovakian football expert likens Tomas Rigo to Marek Hamsik
Reporter Ivan Mriška took the time to delve into Rigo as a player for Slovakian outlet Sport Net, comparing him to some of the greatest midfielders the sport has ever seen.
He compared Rigo to former Arsenal and Chelsea man Cesc Fabregas, as well as German legend Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Meanwhile, Ostrava expert Michal Kvasnica says, “The comparison to Marek Hamšík is perhaps even more fitting.”
Those comparisons are pretty strong commendations for the 23-year-old, but it’s no less than Rigo deserves after making his big breakthrough in the Czech football league last season.
Kvasnica predicts a promising future for Rigo, too, adding: “Tomas Rigo is undoubtedly Banik’s greatest jewel. He is the future driving force of the Slovak national team. I am really sure that he is a future player in one of the top five European competitions.”
These comparisons should excite Stoke City fans as they look to acquire the services of the promising Slovakian, with him likely to become a key component of Mark Robins’ team if the deal can be finalised.