Stoke City loan signing excited for second chance under Mark Robins
Josh Wilson-Esbrand might not have lost a game he started under Mark Robins at Coventry and they may have reached the Championship play-off final that season but he still admits the experience was a learning curve.
Wilson-Esbrand was just turned 20 when he was signed by Robins for a first time on loan from Manchester City in January 2023, making 14 appearances in his first taste of men’s football. He was in and out of the starting XI at wing-back and was on the bench at Wembley when they just missed out on promotion to the Premier League in a penalty shoot-out.
There were encouraging moments, like a star turn as Coventry came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Watford in a key game that bolstered their top six credentials, and tough afternoons, like when he came off the bench in a 4-0 defeat to a Stoke team enjoying a month-long purple patch under Alex Neil.
READ MORE: Bristol City manager issues warning after Stoke City transfer offer rejected
READ MORE: Stoke City confirm striker exit as deadline day looms
He went on to spend 2023/24 in France, playing for Reims in Ligue One, and then back in the Championship with Cardiff, ultimately derailed by a hamstring injury that interrupted his start to this term too back at Man City. Now he’s signed for Robins for a second time, becoming the manager’s first signing at Stoke, and he’s more confident and, hopefully, wiser for the last two years.
“I look back at (the time at Coventry) as a great learning experience because it was my first loan, definitely a great learning experience,” he said. “It helped me understand what the real world of football is like and it paved the way for my understanding of a lot of things. It’s a key part of where I am today.
“(Robins) was a massive part of learning a lot and understanding the nuances of the game in the Championship or in a men’s league. I’m older now and I’ve played a lot more games and I’m very comfortable in what I have to do.”
Wilson-Esbrand has been given one-on-one full-back tutelage by Pep Guardiola and he played under highly-rated Will Still in France and then Erol Bulut in Wales – but he’s pleased to be reuniting with Robins, who takes Stoke to Hull in the Championship this weekend (Saturday, 3pm).
He said: “I think he’s a really great person and really good man manager. He talks well and you’re clear about what’s going on and knowing that he was the manager made me want to come in. It wasn’t necessarily about feeling comfortable but knowing that I know his style of football, know his demands in training and on match days. I just wanted to come in and do my best for him and for the team.”
He added: “We’ve got a bunch of different characters and it’s a welcoming, wholesome changing room.”
Robins made his move for Wilson-Esbrand as it was confirmed that Eric Bocat will miss a key part of the season with a calf injury. Enda Stevens has an outstanding points return at left-back but he has only been able to start 26 games since joining Stoke in the summer of 2023.
There will be chance for Wilson-Esbrand to show everyone what he can do in a defence which has kept four clean sheets in its last six league matches – and how he can affect the game from left-back.
He said: “Whether it be a full-back who gets up and down or like how people say Pep has changed the role with inverted full-backs, there’s a lot of things you can do in that position. It’s an important role defensively and attacking, whether it’s joining in attacks or keeping things neat and tidy when the side is attacking.”
While you're here, we have launched a new WhatsApp group to deliver the latest Stoke news directly to your phone. Click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in. If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave at any time by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking 'Exit Group', simple as that.
