Nathan Lowe back to Stoke City and how to handle jump from League Two to Championship
Nathan Lowe will keep learning but will handle the step up from League Two to the Championship, believes a teammate who has already made that jump.
Lowe has been recalled from a superlative 18-goal loan spell with runaway League Two leaders Walsall to be join Stoke’s first team squad under Mark Robins, currently training in preparation for a trip to play-off hopefuls West Brom on Saturday (3pm).
The 19-year-old has had a brief taste of action at this level before but he is coming back to it full of confidence on the back of the first six months playing regular men’s football.
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Junior Tchamadeu, now 21, was League Two young player of the year in 2023 and in the divisional team of the season before joining Stoke from Colchester. He appreciates the difference in standard but, now cementing himself as first choice right-back, knows it can be navigated.
He said: “For me personally, and I think Lowey would say the same, the speed of the game is much quicker and I believe there’s not a lot of room for mistakes in this division. You see a lot of times that a mistake can cost you a game whereas in League Two you can get away with it a little more if you are quick or strong enough.
“That’s been the biggest thing I’ve learned. You can’t lose concentration in this division because you’ll get punished.”
He added: “One hundred per cent there are loads of players in League Two who could play in the Championship. I say that having come from there myself and I feel like I’m adjusting quite well. Lowey has now gone to League Two and done very well and I feel like he’ll come back here and do the same thing by adapting.
“He’s more experienced now in men’s football after spending six months playing consistently and, at the end of the day, the most important thing in development is playing games. That’s how get your experience and learn.
“I’ve learned a lot already and I’m sure Lowey will keep learning too and hopefully he can replicate that form in the Championship.”
The difference between Tchamadeu and Lowe is that a defender’s mistake can be brutally punished but a striker’s mistake can be forgotten if they take their next chance.
Tchamadeu said: “That’s the biggest thing but it’s their job to score and win us games so you can’t really dwell too much on mistakes. We need them right for the next chance – and we appreciate that as defenders. We try to limit our mistakes so we blame them when they don’t score!”
