Jonathan Woodgate joining Stoke is an ideal move for everybody

Stoke City have signed former-England centre-back Jonathan Woodgate on a free transfer.

The defender was released by Tottenham earlier this summer after enduring a horrendous few years through injury.

Top-Class

Stoke boss Tony Pulis believes the club have signed a top-class defender. The Potters boss told the clubs official website: “ The lad is a top-class player and it’s been well documented that he has had his injury troubles, but we believe that if his fitness is managed properly, he will play games for us,”

“We know that other Premier League clubs were keen on signing Jonathan, so we are delighted he has chosen us. It’s a chance we are taking, but one we were keen to take because of the stature and quality of the player.

“We’ve effectively taken him on a pay-as-you-play deal which just shows how desperate the lad is to get his career back on the right track.”

Class

Pulis is right in his assessment of Woodgate’s ability. On his day the 31 year-old really is a class act and probably should have became an England regular. He was one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in England.

Injuries

The reason Woodgate didn’t fulfil his potential was because of his terrible luck with injuries. His early career promise lead to him being so highly-rated that he attracted the interest of Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Los Blancos signed him but he struggled with fitness and injuries problems during his spell at the Bernabeu. He returned to England and later had spells at Middlesbrough and Tottenham were he endured similar luck with injuries, before becoming a free agent earlier this month.

Tough

The defender suffered such bad injury problems last season that Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp left him out of his 25 man Premier League squad. That meant he wasn’t able to play for Tottenham in the top flight.

That must have been a blow for a player with such ability. And now it seems he has to prove his fitness again at the Britannia Stadium.

Bargain

Stoke boss Tony Pulis has a knack of making shrewd signings and also getting the best out of his players. Stoke cannot really lose by signing Woodgate on a pay-as-you play deal. They have signed a quality player, who when fit can do a good job for the team.

He only has a one-year contract so they won’t get stuck with Woodgate if he fails to prove his fitness. If he does prove to be successful then he has an option to extend his contract by another year.

Chance

I believe this is Jonathan Woodgate’s chance to resurrect his career at the top flight. Stoke are a good solid midtable Premier League and they are not the worse club Woodgate could have joined.

Perfect

Jonathan Woodgate and Stoke are the perfect pair. A player down on his look and in need of love and a Premier League club who are good at getting every bit of talent out of the players they sign. Sounds like a dream team.

Will Jonathan Woodgate be a good signing for Stoke?