He said: “Well, it’s obviously someone we’re interested in and someone we’ve been speaking to Celtic about for a little while. It’s obviously not finalised yet so I won’t go into too much detail yet if you don’t mind because obviously we won’t until it’s confirmed.”
Stoke had already made 18-year-old Liverpool forward Lewis Koumas their fifth signing of the summer in the hours before a 1-0 win over Coventry City.
The deal wasn’t done in time for Koumas to feature but he will join up with the squad on Monday and could be involved in the Carabao Cup first round at Carlisle United on Tuesday.
Schumacher said: “He’s a young player, an exciting one and someone Liverpool have got high hopes for. We watched him play live against us last season and he did really well. The reports we’ve had are that he’s got a really good attitude but he’s only young so we can’t expect too much too soon. This is his first experience out on loan, first experience of men’s football and at this level it will be difficult. But we’ll be glad when he joins us on Monday and I’m looking forward to seeing him on the pitch.”
Mehdi Leris, however, is heading out. The 26-year-old joined Stoke last August from Sampdoria and is expected to be on his way back to Italy to sign for Pisa after being left out of Stoke’s party against Coventry.
Schumacher said: “Mehdi looks as if he could be moving on. It’s something that has been out there and people are aware of. I spoke to Mehdi early in pre-season and he spoke about his desire to play regularly which I can’t guarantee anyone in the squad. He said he wants to get back in the Algeria squad, which again is understandable, and he asked to leave when the interest came in from the Italian club.
“We didn’t want to stand in his way but it’s rumbled on. Complications always happen! He trained with us yesterday and was due to be in the squad but we were told in the morning that the deal was closer. If it does get confirmed we wish him well because Mehdi is a great lad and he’s done well for us. We wouldn’t want to stand in his way.”
Be the first to comment