Mark Hughes praises his Stoke City scouts

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has praised the skill of his scouting network, after landing deals for former Barcelona defender Marc Muniesa and Erik Pieters this summer.

Stoke are also expected to be in the race to sign a few other names, but Mark Hughes has kept his cards close to his chest.


"It's working well. We have the right people in the right positions to make things happen and we have good contacts all over Europe," Hughes told The Sentinel.


"With my contacts and those of Mark and the rest of the recruitment guys, we have a lots of bases covered.


"It has had a good start with Erik Pieters coming in as well as Marc Muniesa, who we had to move quickly on. That is reassuring because we are able to get a young player who might have been off the radar of most clubs because they didn't understand the situation.


"We were able to conclude it quickly, which you have to do when an outstanding player comes available. You have to move either before these players come on the market, or before their situation becomes known.


"With the insight we now have into most markets, we were ahead of the game."