Stoke City midfielder eyed up for surprise Swedish transfer move | OneFootball

Thompson is wanted by a European club in what has emerged as surprise interest

Long-serving Stoke City midfielder Jordan Thompson is reoprtedly being tracked by Swedish giants AIK ahead of a potential move before the winter window slams shut on Monday evening.

The Potters are yet to sell a senior player of note this month, but could possibly do with some exits in order to fund their own business as they toe the line regarding financial fair play (FFP).

Thompson is Stoke's current-longest serving player, having joined the club in January 2020, and he has been of varying importance to different managers over the duration of his time at the bet365 Stadium.

This season, however, he has struggled to nail down a place in the starting eleven under three different head-coaches, and is currently facing a spell on the sidelines with a groin injury, so how viable a deal for him to move away could be remains to be seen.

Jordan Thompson linked with surprise move to European side

According to the Belfast Telegraph, Swedish outfit AIK are keen on Thompson, who is out-of-contract at Stoke at the end of this season.

AIK are based in the capital of Stockholm and are one of the biggest clubs in Sweden, with 12 league titles to their name and the record for having played the most seasons in the Swedish top flight.

While it is a left-field move for a player that has never played outside of the EFL, given his potential lack of chances with the Potters between now and May, and boss Mark Robins' desire to bring new players in, Thompson may well leave ST4 soon to pursue a new challenge at 27-years-old.

Thompson looks likely to leave Stoke soon regardless

Thompson has been a good servant to the Potters over the last five years, but his injury issues this season have meant it seems increasingly likely that he will depart ST4 at the end of this campaign, and that process could now be sped up with interest from abroad.

His contract at the club is up in July, after he signed a one-year extension to his current deal last summer following a good season, so unless he is to force his way back into Robins' side after recovering from his current injury in the last few months of this term, it certainly looks like he will be on his way out of the club soon.

The Northern Ireland international moved to the bet365 Stadium from Blackpool in January 2020, linking up with then-Stoke boss Michael O'Neill, who he had previously played under at international level for his country.

He had built a reputation as a box-to-box midfielder who could also play higher up the pitch and was comfortable out wide whilst with the Tangerines in League One, but joined the Potters and quickly adapted to playing a more defensive midfield role under O'Neill, where he has stayed in the numerous years since.

He has often been used as a rotational player throughout his time with the Potters, but started 25 games in all competitions in 2023/24, a figure only bettered by his 29 starts in 2020/21, and was a key player in the season's run-in under Steven Schumacher as he surpassed 150 games for the club.

The 27-year-old looked set for a successful season this time around after impressing last term, but the ex-Plymouth Argyle boss was sacked early on in the campaign, and he struggled for game-time under new boss Narcis Pelach before a groin issue saw him sidelined in November.

He has not played a single minute since a late run out that month against QPR, due to his injury, and had surgery to rectify the issue earlier this month with a likely view to returning to playing later in the season.

Thompson's issue at Stoke now is that while he is out of contract soon, he is currently unable to prove his worth to recently-appointed boss Robins, and the likes of Wouter Burger, Andrew Moran, Tatsuki Seko, Lewis Baker, Bosun Lawal, and Ben Pearson will all be ahead of him in the midfield pecking order when he returns from injury.

With that said, a departure in the coming days may well be sanctioned, but whether AIK would want to gamble on signing an injured player is unclear. If he was to leave, it would be with the best wishes of many Stoke supporters, as he has been a constant in numerous different squads over recent seasons, and has never been a player to shirk a tackle or not put maximum effort in.