CITY BOSS: SORBA IS HUGE PART OF PLANS

Manager says Thomas' quality and experience will be key to what he's trying to build at Stoke

- Peter Smith

SORBA Thomas will be a key building block for a Stoke City side looking to make improvements as quickly as possible, says Mark Robins.

Stoke had tried to sign Thomas last summer when he ended up moving to Nantes from Huddersfield Town on a loan deal with purchase option that was out of the price range. They tried again in January after Robins' arrival as manager but Nantes wouldn't sanction a mid-season exit.

The Potters finally got their man this time around, one of the first Championship deals of the summer, and Robins is looking forward to seeing what difference he can make to the first team.

"We tried to get him in January and it was difficult - or actually impossible it proved," said Robins. "That would have been good because we would have been able to bed him in.