Choupo’s name Sparks memory for Potters boss
JEAN-ERIC MAXIM CHOUPO-MOTING – remember the name. Well, it is hard to forget it! And Stoke boss
Mark Hughes certainly remembered it.
Sparky spent three years trying to sign the Germanborn Cameroon attacker before finally landing him this summer when his contract expired at Schalke.
The signing of Jese Rodriguez on loan from Paris St-Germain has been the headline-grabbing act in the Potteries.
And the former Real Madrid starlet kept it that way with the winning goal on his debut against Arsenal last weekend.
But Hughes is delighted with all his summer arrivals – including Choupo-Moting, 28.
Stoke have a match with an edge at West Brom today, as there have been past tensions between Hughes and the Baggies’ former Potters boss Tony Pulis.
There was also the far-from-smooth transfer of striker Saido Berahino from West Brom to Stoke.
But Hughes goes to
The Hawthorns in an upbeat mood as a result of the Arsenal win – and the impact of his new boys.
The Stoke boss said of Choupo-Moting (right): “Maxim is a player I’ve been tracking for some time.
“He’s an exciting player, as he showed when he made his debut as a substitute against Everton on the opening day of the season.
“He will give us a different dimension in the final third of the pitch.”
Choupo-Moting is sold on Hughes, too, and said: “I had a really good feeling from the first time I spoke to the manager.
“He gave me a strong feeling about the club and there are many reasons why this was the right place to come to.
“I love cultures and I love languages, so I like to move around and see different places.
“I can speak English anyway but I get excited by new challenges.
“I know players in the area like Joel Matip and Loris Karius at Liverpool and Leroy Sane and Vincent Kompany at Manchester City.
“And Sead Kolasinac, who has just moved to Arsenal and who has been in regular contact.
“I know them all from their time in Germany and all that helps when you move somewhere else.” Meanwhile, Pulis and Hughes appear to have let bygones be bygones ahead of today’s game. Years of acrimony look to have been put to bed as Pulis said: “Everything is fine. “I think the media and press would like to make it more than it is and I understand you have to do your job, but everything is fine.” Darren Fletcher makes his first return to The Hawthorns today following his summer switch to Stoke, and Pulis said of his former captain: “He should get a great reception because he’s been absolutely fantastic for this football club.
“He’s a wonderful person and what he did here on and off the pitch was first class. He missed one game in two and a half years.”
WBA v Stoke, Today, 1.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event Feb 2017: W Brom 1 Stoke 0 Sep 2016: Stoke 1 W Brom 1 Jan 2016: W Brom 2 Stoke 1 Aug 2015: Stoke 0 W Brom 1 Mar 2015: W Brom 1 Stoke 0
W Brom – 46 wins Stoke – 59 wins Draws – 36 LIVERPOOL skipper Jordan Henderson has revealed the upbeat atmosphere inside a dressing room without Philippe Coutinho as Liverpool press on in their unbeaten start to the new campaign. The “C” word has never been uttered behind closed doors with Henderson admitting he has not had to rally the troops in the Brazilian’s absence. Whatever happens in the next week regarding Coutinho’s future, the focus at Anfield is not on their absent team-mate but driving on towards success at home and abroad. The results without him in the camp have been impressive with Liverpool managing three victories and a draw with 10 goals scored, ahead of today’s clash with Arsenal. Jurgen Klopp’s side are back among Europe’s elite after knocking out Hoffenheim to secure Champions League group games against Spartak Moscow, Sevilla and Maribor. If Coutinho is around for the ride, great. If not, Henderson believes Liverpool have enough talent to compete for the game’s biggest club prize after disposing of the Germans in a whirl of attacking play at Anfield.
The Kop skipper was quick to dismiss any negative thoughts that it was hard as captain to keep the dressing room NO WORRIES: Henderson says future of Coutinho (right) is not an issue