Transmit gossip as Stoke City, a Championship club, has been associated with former Stoke youth player and Wales international Owen Beck. However, the club appears to have been turned down in their attempt to bring Beck back on loan from Liverpool.
Beck, a 21-year-old aggressive left-back, had been getting glowing reviews on a season-long loan at Dundee before an injury crisis at Anfield prompted manager Jurgen Klopp to activate a recall option at the beginning of the month. His performances in the Scottish Premiership earned him his first senior Wales call-up in October.
According to The Athletic, numerous Championship clubs, including Stoke, Coventry City, Millwall, and Hull City, as well as a few League One teams, have expressed interest in loaning him out for the second half of the season. “Those approaches were rejected,” the paper states. Celtic and Rangers are said to be interested in the Flintshire-born defender, who began his career at Stoke before joining Liverpool’s Academy as a youngster.
Beck would have been in Klopp’s matchday squad to face Arsenal in the FA Cup last weekend, but he was forced to serve a one-match suspension as a result of bookings against Bonnyrigg Rose and Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish League Cup group stage back in July.
He was, however, chosen in the matchday 20 squad for Liverpool’s 2-1 League Cup semi-final first leg win against Fulham last week, where he was an unused substitute.
Enda Stevens, 33, was signed as Stoke’s left-back last summer, but a succession of injuries have limited him to just 12 Championship matches so far. Jordan Thompson and Lynden Gooch have been designated as deputies. Stevens is now back in training as Stoke prepare to face Birmingham on Saturday.
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