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Tezgel Knocking on the First Team Door?

By Jeff Brantley

STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 05: Emre Tezgel of Stoke City during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Stoke City and Wigan Athletic at Britannia Stadium on February 05, 2022 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 05: Emre Tezgel of Stoke City during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Stoke City and Wigan Athletic at Britannia Stadium on February 05, 2022 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images) /
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Stoke City’s U21’s played to 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain’s reserves on Wednesday — The Potters latest U21’s victory in the Premier League International Cup, now gives the team six points from three matches in the tournament.

That in itself is a big story for Stoke City’s next generation of players. But, it’s what forward Emre Tezgel did in the match once again that makes the biggest headline. And with his latest feat, Emre Tezgel could also be closer to forcing Alex Neil into more decisions.

Tezgel Scores a Brace Against PSG’s Reserves

Emre Tezgel has had a very good season so far for Stoke City’s U21’s. So much so that coming out of the World Cup break, manager Alex Neil has named Tezgel to the club’s first team bench twice (one game being a friendly against Nottingham Forest and one against Cardiff City last Saturday).

Outside of Stoke’s friendly against Forest on December 2nd though, Tezgel has yet to see any regular minutes with The Potters first teamers. However, that soon could be changing if Tezgel continues to play at the level he has — As to add to Tezgel’s resume/season thus far, Tezgel on Wednesday helped Stoke City’s U21’s to victory by scoring a brace against PSG’s reserves.

Tezgel’s latest achievement adds to a long line of good performances this season for the young 17-year-old. And with every goal Tezgel scores this season, he appears to be getting closer and closer to making his official Championship debut for Stoke City.

STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 05: Jason Kerrof Wigan and Emre Tezgel of Stoke City compete for the ball during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Stoke City and Wigan Athletic at Britannia Stadium on February 05, 2022 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 05: Jason Kerrof Wigan and Emre Tezgel of Stoke City compete for the ball during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Stoke City and Wigan Athletic at Britannia Stadium on February 05, 2022 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images) /

At some point Alex Neil won’t be able to push aside what the young forward is doing for the club’s U21’s. Furthermore, since Tezgel has already been making Stoke City’s first team bench, at some point Neil won’t be able to just name Tezgel to Stoke City’s bench — He’ll be forced to play Tezgel, even if that means substitution minutes.

Will that time come soon? Maybe or maybe not. Tezgel still remains a very young player, and Stoke City still remain as a club with plenty of depth at forward. So minutes for Tezgel at the senior team level may still be far off.

But if Tezgel continues to score goals at a torrid pace, it makes a lot of sense for Tezgel to start to see minutes with the club’s senior team — Stoke City need goals right now and good play from their players. Which is something that Tezgel has been doing consistently at the U21’s level.