Soares And Dickinson Head Out On Loan

  Stoke midfielder Tom ‘Arto’ Soares has joined rock-bottom Championship side Charlton Athletic on a one month loan deal. The 22 year old joined Stoke for £1.5 million from Crystal Palace on transfer deadline day in August and despite impressing in his early appearances has syruggled to hold down a regular first team place.

  He will now look to gain some sharpness and expierence of a relegation battle from his time at Charlton, who are currently five points adrift at the foot of the Championship having played a game more than 23rd placed Doncaster. The recent appointment of Phil Parkinson as manager seems to have lifted the Addicks though, as they won for the first time in nineteen games on Tuesday night, winning 1-0 at Norwich in the FA Cup.

 

Soares, pictured during his Crystal Palace days, heads back to London with a loan move to Charlton.

  I personally was very impressed by Soares in his early performances for us, but he has failed to recapture that form since. The freely attacking attitude he showed in his debut against Tottenham, a game in which he won two penalties, seems to have been checked by the requirements of the ”tracking back winger” one of Tony Pulis’ favourite tools. At 22, he was definitely a signing for the future, and a month experiencing a relegation scrap at a slightly lower level may well help him to come back and make a eaningful contribution to the one we are in the middle of at Stoke.

  While, the deal for Soares has gone through, Charlton confirmed that while Stoke did, as I suggested on yesterday, make a surprise bid to take Charlton striker Andy Gray on loan, the deal is now dead. I can’t say I’m particularly gutted with that one.

  Meanwhile, young Stoke full-back Carl Dickinson has joined League One side Leeds United (I still love saying that), also on a one month loan deal. The 21 year old will again link up with Leeds manager Simon Grayson, who was in charge at Blackpool when Dickinson spent time on loan there two seasons ago.

  Despite being excellentat Championship level during the second half of last season, Dickinson has not really looked the part in the Premier League, and hasn’t started a game since August. This loan is simply a case of sending a young player to get some experience at a lower level, which can only be a good thing, particularly when that young player is not getting a look in for the first team.

  Who would have thought five years ago that Stoke would be sending young players on loan to Leeds to get some experience at a level two leagues below! Good times eh?

Dickinson demonstrates his typical all or nothing style – Premier League wingers will breathe a sigh of relief now there’s no chance they’ll have to face him for a while.