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Bae Junho gave a glimpse of the fresh breath of air he can offer at number 10 as it appears he could still have a future at Stoke City. Junho’s status has been one of the narratives of the summer transfer window so far and there has been talk of interest from Lyon, who have South Korean ownership. But it is believed there has been no serious pursuit with three weeks remaining until deadline day and the Championship season about to start this weekend. In the meantime, Junho, aged 22, has recovered from an injury which derailed his chances of getting World Cup game time and, having missed most of pre-season, produced an eye-catching performance from the bench in a Carabao Cup win over Oldham last Saturday. He is in contention to come into the starting XI against Swansea and knows, whatever happens in his career and if he wants to play a part in a successful Stoke team under Mark Robins - where the second striker shirt is there to be claimed - he must follow up that cameo with more regular goals and assists. FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest Stoke City news, analysis and more via the Sentinel Robins said: “I thought he was brilliant when he came on, really good. He was a breath of fresh air, opening doors for everyone else. He turns away from people and has a great understanding of the game and a great understanding of his position. “Again: goals and assists. We’ve just got to have more. That’s what he delivered against Oldham. There was an assist for a chance and an assist for a goal. There was also another bit of play that we could have had another goal from in a cameo that lasted about 30 minutes. “I thought it was a good 30 minutes from him.” Junho joined Stoke from Daejeon Hana Citizen in the summer of 2023, signing a four-year contract after catching scouts’ attention with his performances at the under-20s World Cup. The playmaker gradually broke into the first team in that marathon debut season, when his junior international commitments overlapped with a domestic season in Korea and the toil of a Championship winter. He ended up with five assists and two goals and was named player of the year as Stoke pulled away from the relegation places. He scored three and set up five in 2024/25 as Stoke were again caught at the wrong end of the table and then set up three and scored two last term as a bright start descended into a bottom half finish. His availability record has been excellent, getting on the pitch in 125 of the 134 league games since he moved to England. Robins opted for Million Manhoef as the player closest to centre-forward Sam Gallagher against Oldham, using Lamine Cisse on the right. Manhoef, Cisse or even Gallagher are options for the right wing if Robins wants to tweak his plans this week, with striker Robert Bozenik – who Junho set up to score in the cup – hoping to work his way into the side too. What do you think? Click HERE to join the debate