"In this current day and age" - £25m Stoke City, Ryan Shawcross claim issued | OneFootball

FLW's Stoke City fan pundit has put a value on a peak Ryan Shawcross' modern transfer value

Ryan Shawcross built a reputation as a Stoke City legend during his time at the club.

The defender helped the Potters gain promotion to the Premier League under Tony Pulis in 2008, making 41 appearances in his debut campaign after signing from Manchester United.

Shawcross made 317 appearances in the top flight for the club, helping them achieve highs such as coming ninth in the table in three consecutive seasons.

He has even returned to Stoke following the end of his playing career, becoming a coach behind the scenes and was even in caretaker charge before the appointment of Narcis Pèlach.

There is no doubt that new head coach Pèlach would love to have someone of his quality in the first-team squad now.

Ryan Shawcross touted as £25m player in 2024 transfer market at his peak

When asked how much a prime Shawcross could be worth in today’s market, FLW’sStoke fan pundit Sam Harrison claimed that his value would be north of £25 million.

He has compared the now 36-year-old’s potential value to Max Kilman, who signed for West Ham last summer in a deal worth £40 million, according to Sky Sports.

“When you look at it, obviously today’s market the prices, how much players are worth, you cannot ever compare that to player’s 10, 20 years ago, and how much they signed for clubs,”Harrison told Football League World.

“The fee is sky high, so it’s a real tough one saying how much he’d be worth.

“But prime Ryan Shawcross was a superb player.

“His loyalty to the club, his leadership, everything about him was superb.

“You look at it, and I think teams in the Premier League when Stoke were in there, and obviously had Ryan Shawcross as the skipper, would have loved to have him at the back, to have had that defensive stability.

“For me, am I being biased, am I being too optimistic? But I think you look at how much some centre-halves are worth these days, but how much did West Ham pay for Max Kilman?

“I do like him, I think he’s got a lot of potential, a young man that’s still building up, so the fee is obviously going to be higher.

“But I do think a prime Ryan Shawcross brings so much more to the table than what you can first imagine, and I think how he played under Tony Pulis and what was required of him was superb.

“I don’t know if I’m being too optimistic, but in this current market I don’t want to say he’s worth peanuts, I think it should be about £25 million.

“Because the money that’s in football right now is massive, so you look at it now you can’t have anything to back up because we obviously don’t know how much these players would’ve been worth.

“But I just think he’s a superb player, and someone that is a legend at Stoke, and I think in terms of going off is Stoke were to let him go, minimum would be around that fee, if not more.

“Maybe I’ve set it too low.

“I just think in this current day and age, price-wise, and especially for centre-halves, it’s a difficult one to pinpoint how much they’re worth, I just think it’s that and more.”

Ryan Shawcross' importance to Stoke City cannot be understated

Shawcross was a key figure for Stoke under both Pulis and Mark Hughes during the club’s decade stint in the Premier League.

He made over 300 appearances, as well as helping the Potters reach the FA Cup final in 2011, and he even scored 14 goals from centre-back during that time.

It’s possible that he could’ve easily cost north of £30 million, or perhaps even the same as the £40 million that Kilman went for, especially in his prime.