Walters targeting multiple Stoke signings

Stoke City sporting director Jonathan Walters says he wants to "get a lot of signings in" before pre-season starts next month.

The Potters finished 17th in the Championship last season, eight points above the relegation zone and are preparing for their ninth campaign in the second tier since they dropped out of the Premier League at the end of 2017-18.

Stoke have a behind-closed doors match against Portuguese side Braga on Friday, 10 July before starting their pre-season in earnest at neighbours Crewe Alexandra eight days later.

The club released midfielders Lewis Baker and Steven Nzonzi at the end of last season as well as making striker Milan Smit's loan move permanent.

But work is well under way on bringing in the first new arrivals of the summer and Walters said he wants to be busy.

"I hope to get a lot of signings in before pre-season, that's my wish," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

"It doesn't always happen like that. The World Cup slowed things down for people. What happens with Premier League usually dictates what comes above you - if they're slower that will have a knock-on effect to every part of the market.

"We're close to a few things happening. If clubs are willing to do it quickly, great, I want to do it quickly, I want to get players in because I want to give coaches the best chance."

Stoke brought in 10 players last summer, and another four in the January window, but saw their campaign severely undermined by persistent injuries throughout their squad.

Walters said budgets mean he has to be "realistic" over potential targets but knows the type of player the club needs to attract.

"I always plan for every scenario. What if we lose X player tomorrow? What if that player gets sold for X amount?," he said.

"You've got to do that so you have hundreds of players in your head. You know the identity you're trying to bring to the football club. It's not as easy as snapping your fingers.

"We could throw some of the best Premier League players on our list. They're unattainable to us, because they're going to cost £30-40m, so you've got to be realistic.

"We look at probably last year and go, 'OK, we got things wrong in maybe a bit of identity on the pitch, maybe a bit of profile a player, we're really lacking that what gets us out the Championship' - that's what this league needs but also that's what Stoke City needs."

Walters previously said he saw the next 12 months as a time for continued improvement rather than setting defined targets.

But, heading into the new campaign, he is adamant over how the team should shape its identity, with possession and energy key factors.

"If you look at our identity on the football pitch I am not a person that wants a goalkeeper to stand on the ball for 20 seconds - that's not Stoke City," Walters said.

"Any team that gets out the league, 95% to 99%, will have more possession.

"You've got to score more goals than the other team, you've got to get more shots on target, more balls in the box," he said.

"We're a team that needs to fight for each other, we need to show a certain identity on the pitch. So that affects the profile of player you're looking at.

"You can't have people that can't run around the pitch, can't get stuck into duels, can't have tackles and that goes back to your identity.

"I see us as a football club [with] high energy, duels, pressing, get fans off the seat, you've got to show that desire. You've got to wear it."

Walters also unlined the importance of unity with everyone at the club on those beliefs and said any new recruits will fit in.

"There's a certain way I think a Stoke City team needs to play. I have that identity, so you need alignment across that from everyone.

"When you see players coming in the building, they're not always going to be superstars but they'll have some sort of super strength that really affects what we're trying to do."