Mark Sykes to Stoke City transfer, best position and character as 'bid submitted'
Stoke City are being linked with a late January transfer window move to sign Mark Sykes, with a bid allegedly submitted to try to sign him from Bristol City.
Sykes, aged 27, ticks a few priority boxes for the Potters in terms of age, experience and position in what could be a crucial few days for boss Mark Robins and sporting director Jon Walters.
His best role has been up for discussion since the days when he was being lined up by Michael O’Neill to play for Northern Ireland – although he ultimately decided to pledge his allegiance to the Republic of Ireland – but he has been clear enough what he would prefer.
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Here is a chance to look at what has been said about the player over the years as Stoke try to finalise their business for the winter. The right target for Stoke? Click HERE to join the debate.
Karl Robinson
It was Robinson who signed Sykes for Oxford from Glenavon in January 2019, helping the player find his feet and best position in League One.
He told the Oxford Mail in August 2021: “There’s a big argument for Sykesy higher up, he gives us so much more in the final third off the right. I prefer him in there, sometimes his lackadaisical approach in the middle of the pitch gets him caught out but his talent comes to the forefront when he gets in them little areas on the right.”
By the winter, as he was trying to persuade Sykes to stay at the club for ‘a very long time’, he added: “There’s loads of different components that can get the best out of players and we’ve tried a number of ways of doing it with Sykesy. He’s been brilliant this year and it’s down to him. Now he’s training really well week-in, week-out and we know we’ve got a much better player than this time last year.”
It became clear, however, that Sykes was going to make the step up in the summer of 2022 and Nigel Pearson, then Bristol City boss, was spotted on scouting missions.
The Mail’s James Roberts told BristolLive: “His touch and technical ability are great. He's probably one of the best in the Oxford squad on that front. He's got great energy as well which is why he was partly moved out to right wing-back when Karl Robinson started playing that system in January and February time.
“He's got a good engine on him and I think he is deceivingly quick too. When you add that end product that he's had he can be a dangerous player because he can get up and down that right side, getting behind the defence and pulling the ball back. When used correctly and in the right position he can be a real threat. He's also tenacious.”
Nigel Pearson
Bristol City had turned down the chance to sign him as a teenager on trial but, at the age of 24, Pearson took him to Ashton Gate as a free agent, saying: “We want people to come in and have something to prove and are ambitious. Certainly Mark Sykes ticks those kind of boxes.”
Sykes was used as a wing-back or as a number 10 early on and went on to score six times in that first campaign, with five coming in the space of six matches after he had been switched to the right wing.
“Everybody knew that my best position was probably higher up the pitch,” he said at the time. “When I moved there it could have gone wrong if I didn’t put in the performances. When I did score them I think it did turn a few heads.
“If you think of the number of tap-ins (Raheem) Sterling scored from the centre of goal during his time at (Manchester City), it was an obvious example to try to follow. It is just about positioning and understanding what your team-mate is going to do. I’ve scored a few goals in that tap-in area in the past few weeks.”
He got another five last season, with four assists too, and was at his best in performances like from the right wing in a 2-1 win at Swansea.
“He was a little bit bottled up in the first half, as City concentrated on the left but after the break he was a force of nature, constantly taking his man on and finding space,” wrote James Piercy for the Bristol Post after that game. “He took his goal with supreme expertise, feinting to shoot with his right, rolling it onto his left and then tucking it away. His cross for Bell’s winner was also the result of typically dogged endeavour by the Irishman.”
Liam Manning
Sykes scored the winner in Manning’s first game in charge of Bristol City but the player was used in plenty of different positions again, described as one of the club’s “most reliable and versatile performers”.
“I’ve been used to it,” Sykes said. “When I came in, the previous manager said he’s working with a tight squad and he needed players to do numerous different jobs, and I think I fit that criteria. I’ve played right and left-back… I even filled in at centre-back for the last couple of minutes at Leeds away.”
He added later: “It’s a difficult one, as much as you don’t want to play here, there and everywhere, I’m here to do a job for the team. I was in the middle of the pitch when I was coming through, I was kind of a centre midfielder and then when I went to Oxford, it was between centre midfield and right wing. It’s just more games played in wider areas, you’re expected to either deliver the final ball or take someone on and it just comes with experience of games.
“That’s why sometimes I do get a little bit frustrated not always being in that position because I’ll want to gain more experience in that area, so that when I do stand someone up 1vs1, I trust myself to go past them or when my final ball’s maybe not so good, I want to play it more often so I can finish it.”
Sykes was ruled out for a few weeks this season with a hamstring injury but he has still clocked up 16 appearances, including five from the bench. He started off on the wing – including an impressive performance at Stoke in October when they came back from 2-0 down to draw and probably should have won – but since then he has been deployed at wing-back.
His contract runs until the summer although there is an option to extend it by 12 months.
Manning was asked if he wanted to keep him and said: “Yes. He's done well. For me, he's done exactly what he's needed to do recently. I thought he was excellent the other night (starting at right wing-back in a 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday), for me, he gets us the point with the quality on the crosses.”
Now Sky Sports claim that Stoke have made a bid to try to take him to the bet365 Stadium ahead of next Monday’s transfer deadline. Mark Robins is in the hunt for players who can make an impact in wide positions, particularly with Million Manhoef (knee) sidelined until the spring.
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