Stoke Manager Gary Rowett Reportedly Tells 4 Potters Players They Are Free to Leave Club

Stoke City manager Gary Rowett has reportedly told as many as four players that they are free to leave the club before the end of the month as they are considered to be surplus to requirements at the bet365 Stadium this season.

The Daily Telegraph names club record signing Giannelli Imbula as one of those earmarked for an exit, alongside Scottish veteran Charlie Adam, Cameroonian forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and American utility player Geoff Cameron.

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None of the quartet have been included in Rowett's 18-man matchday squad for either of the two Championship games played so far, while it is said that Imbula and Choupo-Moting are currently training away from the first team.

Cameron in particular is said to be of interest for Werder Bremen and Rayo Vallecano, but any hope Adam had of moving to former club Rangers is apparently now 'remote'.

The biggest disappointment for Stoke fans will be the fortunes of Imbula only two-and-a-half years after completing a high profile £18.3m move from Porto. He made a strong start to life with the Potters, only to quickly fall out of favour after a dreadful start to 2016/17.

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By the end of that campaign, the former France Under-21 international was completely out of the picture and later joined Toulouse on loan for the duration of the 2017/18 season.

Although still under contract until 2021, Imbula seemingly has no chance of working his way into Rowett's plans and is ultimately now an expensive mistake in Stoke's past.

Stoke are yet to win a game since their return to the Championship after going down 3-1 to Leeds in their opening fixture last weekend and being held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford in the first home game.

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Disappointingly for Rowett, the majority of the differing sides he named for both games had plenty of Premier League experience, whether with the Potters or other clubs.