Reports: Inter Miami in talks with Stoke City captain Ryan Shawcross
Inter Miami is in negotiations with a few players for the upcoming MLS transfer window, including at least one in South America, according to a league source.
Media reports from England say Stoke City captain Ryan Shawcross, whose contract expires this summer, is one of the players in talks with Miami. The next MLS transfer window runs Feb. 10 to May 4.
Shawcross, a 33-year-old center back, was not on the bench for Stoke City’s game against Reading on Saturday. He has been with Stoke since 2008, and played from 2002 to 2006 at Manchester United, where he was a teammate of new Inter Miami coach Phil Neville. Shawcross’ former coach at Stoke City was Tony Pulis, whose son, Anthony, is an assistant at Inter Miami.
He is known as a cerebral player with great leadership skills and played briefly with the English national team. He joined Stoke from Manchester United as a 19-year-old and helped the team get promoted to the Premier League. He was named captain three years later, led the team to an FA Cup final and has made 453 appearances for the club. Shawcross has been hampered by injuries over the past year and a half, but has returned to full fitness.
Asked about Shawcross’ status on Saturday, Stoke City manager Michael O’Neill told reporters: “There’s an ongoing situation at the minute with Ryan. There is interest from an MLS club, discussions are open and forthright on that but nothing is concluded at this minute in time.
“To be fair to the player, Ryan has expressed the interest if the opportunity is given and we as a club have to recognize what Ryan has given us in terms of service.”
Inter Miami policy is not to comment on potential signings.
MLS preseason training camp opens Feb. 22 and the regular season begins April 3.
This story was originally published February 6, 2021 at 1:25 PM.