Stoke fans here in the Football Transfer Tavern are excited to see the start of another Premier League season.

However, this transfer window has been a quiet one and whilst their squad obviously possess a lot of talent, the Potters’ activity in the transfer market has disappointed the Stoke section in the Transfer Tavern, who have only seen the loan signing of Kurt Zouma as the transfer action from their club.

With Marko Arnautovic departing the club as well, our landlord believes that Mark Hughes needs to show his intent sooner rather than later, otherwise it will result in his Stoke side falling behind their rivals in this season’s Premier League and if that happens the Welshman will be under the pump in terms of his future at the bet365 Stadium.

Obviously, this means Stoke need to start well and there are some dilemmas that Hughes face in selecting his starting XI for their trip to Everton for the start of the season and our landlord has reiterated that failure to get these decisions right may well increase the pressure on the Stoke manager.

Of course, this has started a debate in the Tavern and our resident Potters have been discussing the major decisions their club needs to make in team selection for the first game of the season.

Let’s take a look at their findings here…

Replace Arnautovic

Marko Arnautovic’s transfer to West Ham would have left a hole in the Stoke City side and our landlord feels that it is important that Hughes feels the creative void left by the Austrian’s departure will need to be filling, especially as the Potters look very weak in the attacking department at the minute.

The Stoke fans in the Tavern agree and they’d like to see more from the likes of Ibrahim Affelay and Bojan this season in order to help their club progress.

Who will partner Shawcross?

With a deal for Bruno Martins-Indi not yet finalised, Hughes now faces a dilemma over who will partner Ryan Shawcross in the centre of his Stoke defence.

There are options within Stoke’s squad with Kurt Zouma joining on loan and Marc Muniesa already among the ranks but our landlord has stated that Hughes must make the right decision in order to maintain a strong defence this season.