Window a success for Potters as they emerge with squad strength

IT is promising that there is a strong consensus in the Stoke City camp that it's been a good window when there are still seven frontline signings yet to start a league game.

- Peter Smith

There has been an organised look about Stoke's business over the last three months. The message was they wanted to bring in better and more robust players to replace the ones who were leaving.

So, here they are at the end of it with 11 new players - including two returning, three wins out of their first four games and the squad looking more balanced and stronger in both senses of the word than it has done for what seems like ages.

Sorba Thomas has made an electric start to life at the club, Divin Mubama has played well enough to get an England under-21s call up and Aaron Cresswell has brought a steady head at left-back.

It will be interesting to see how verdicts are shaped over time, as Lamine Cisse and Tomas Rigo also come into the fold and Robert Bozenik, Maksym Talovierov, Ashley Phillips, Steven Nzonzi and Jamie Donley get towards full speed and force their way or not into Mark Robins' plans.

Robins had wanted extra competition for Junior Tchamadeu at right-back too but deadline day came and went without any more deals.