Premier guarantee ensured Potters landed their man in Crouch

TONY Pulis has recalled the brief phone call that saw Peter Coates green light the record-breaking Stoke City transfer deal for Peter Crouch.

- PETE SMITH

Pulis was gearing up for a dramatic end to the summer transfer window in 2011, trying to strengthen his starting XI and squad after reaching the FA Cup final had propelled the club into the Europa League.

By the end of August they had beaten Hajduk Split and Thun over two legs to secure a place in a group that would see them travel about as far as possible across the continent, taking on Besiktas, Dynamo Kyiv and Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday nights in between all-important Premier League fixtures. It built up to trying to finalise a new club record £10 million deadline day swoop for Crouch, then aged 30, from Tottenham Hotspur.

There was clearly excitement among the fan base, with supporters gathering outside the then-Britannia Stadium as they tracked the strike’s supposed journey north, but it had to be justified inside the building.