Gary Rowett Admits Out of Favour Midfielder Can Leave Stoke City if He Wants Playing Time
Gary Rowett has admitted that Charlie Adam is free to leave Stoke City if he wants more playing time, after barely featuring for the Potters this season.
Adam could make his farewell appearance for Stoke City in Wednesday night's Checkatrade Trophy derby at Port Vale, if he gets the nod to play.
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Adam has played 169 times for Stoke since joining from Liverpool in 2012, and will be out of contract at the Bet 365 Stadium in the summer and has frequently spoke about the possibility of a January move.
The Stoke Sentinel reports that manager Gary Rowett has revealed he wouldn’t stand in his way barring an injury crisis, saying: “I don’t think Charlie’s situation has changed since the summer because we have been open-minded.
“In Charlie’s case, he has spoken about it more than we have spoken about it.
“The reality is, he’s a player that wants to play football and he hasn’t had the opportunity to do that, so of course he’s going to want to play more regularly. Even in the summer we were open to that and there wasn’t the right opportunity for him."
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Adam, who turns 33 this month, will be playing in front of more than 4,000 visiting fans at Vale Park if he is picked as one of two over-age players in Stokes Under-21 side, and Rowett has paid testament to his continued professionalism.
"What I would say with Charlie is that I’ve made it fairly clear to him that while he’s here and training with us, he will still be available for selection," he added.
"Provided he does the right things - and he has. He works really, really hard in training, his attitude is good and he’s quite an influential player in the dressing room. That’s testament to his professionalism."
