He was released on the expiration of his contract at Alex Neil’s former side Preston North End earlier this summer, giving Neil the opportunity to give the midfielder an opportunity to impress before seeing whether he would be a suitable signing for the Potters, who are currently in the process of rebuilding their squad.
It was previously unclear whether the player would be offered a contract considering he wasn’t handed a deal ahead of last weekend’s 4-1 victory against Rotherham United.
But it seems as though it’s only a matter of time before he’s officially unveiled with Onomah prepared to accept a short-term deal.
What’s the state of play in Stoke City’s midfield department?
The midfield trio of Josh Laurent, Ben Pearson and Will Smallbone worked extremely well at times last season.
And thankfully for the Potters, Pearson has since re-joined the club permanently following the end of his loan spell at the bet365 Stadium.
Daniel Johnson has also joined the club and that will be a boost for Onomah who already knows the Jamaican from their time together at Deepdale.
With Nick Powell, Sam Clucas, Tashan Oakley-Boothe and former loanee Smallbone all departing, adding another option to their midfield department may be useful, even though the Potters also have Lewis Baker and Jordan Thompson available as options along with the likes of Laurent, Pearson and Johnson.
Neil’s side are right to only offer the player a one-year deal because his career has stalled a bit in recent years.
Making just 11 league appearances in the Premier League during the 2020/21 campaign, his game time didn’t improve much during the following campaign with the player only playing a limited part for the Cottagers during 2021/22.
Then going on to join Preston North End in January, he didn’t do enough under Ryan Lowe to earn an extension and was released earlier this summer.
With this, the midfielder will have a big point to prove and this is one reason why this is a smart signing for Stoke, but a one-year deal will allow the Potters to offload him reasonably easily if he doesn’t manage to thrive in Staffordshire.
He may not be a regular starter considering the options Neil already has at his disposal, so a one-year contract will suit both parties to see how his first season at the club pans out.
Some would argue that he should be looking to sign a longer-term deal elsewhere, but he may not have too many contract offers on the table at this stage and this is why he should be jumping at the chance to move to Stoke.
If he can force his way into the first 11 and stay there, there’s no reason why the extension option in his contract shouldn’t be triggered
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