Stoke City is "trying" to complete a deal with a "fighter" defender they are close to signing.

 If Stoke City wants to avoid a struggle at the bottom of the Championship in 2025–2026, they have a lot of work to do this summer.

After a 0-0 tie at Pride Park on the last day, the Potters and Derby County both escaped relegation; but, as Mark Robins prepares for his first full season as manager, their goals must be higher in the upcoming campaign.

Following his departure from West Bromwich Albion, Stoke held discussions with John Swift; nevertheless, the Rams are one of three teams vying for his services.

However, the Staffordshire team is now getting close to signing a defender who had a significant influence in the Championship the previous season.

Maksym Talovierov is being pursued by Stoke City.
Throughout the summer, Maksym Talovierov appeared certain to leave Plymouth Argyle, but according to Pete O'Rourke, he is now expected to join Stoke.

Although the 25-year-old was a great addition to the Greens and their record-breaking January transfer window acquisition, his club was unable to prevent relegation to League One due to the Ukrainian defender's injury struggles towards the conclusion of the season.

According to EFL Analysis's Chief Football Correspondent, Graeme Bailey, Stoke is "trying" to close the transaction and is in negotiations with Plymouth. Schalke has also attracted the attention of Miron Muslic, but this was not very serious.

Maksym Talovierov is a fantastic centre-back for Mark Robins.
Muslic was quick to express how much Talovierov will be missed after his injury. "He's very disappointed because the season is over and he can't support us any more," he stated (via Plymouth Live). In the past two months, Maksym has been well-known to all of us; he is a fighter, a wonderful guy, and a good character.

The Ukrainian centre-back is a significant coup for Stoke because of his physical presence and defensive third leadership, and Argyle will be devastated to lose him.

As the Potters want to move up the league with the goal of ending their seven-year wait for Premier League football at the front of their minds, Robins needs a replacement for Ashley Phillips, and "Maxi" can be just that.


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