Stoke City Striker Bojan Krkic Finally Finding His Feet in Premier League
Spanish striker Bojan Krkic has never truly found home at a football club, with his vast potential never quite fulfilled, but the 24-year-old may finally be fitting in at Stoke City.
The former Barcelona man produced a fine performance in the side's 2-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane on Sunday, capped by an excellent solo goal that even former team-mate Lionel Messi would be proud of.
Following the win, Bojan spoke to the Daily Mirror's Ed Malyon, identifying how joining Stoke was "the best option for me," after disappointing spells at AC Milan, Ajax (both on loan) and AS Roma .
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These travails have imprinted a determination in the new Potters star, who claims that "games like the one against Tottenham are good to get. But now I need to keep working."
The one-cap Spain international is seemingly relishing his start in the Premier League, and this new challenge may prove to be the opportunity Bojan needs to prove himself as a top-class striker.
The Road to the Britannia
Bojan's journey from vibrant Catalonia to sunless Stoke has been an arduous one in footballing terms, and this is despite the striker turning out for some of Europe's biggest sides over the years.
Ian McCourt of The Guardian detailed the Spaniard's early breakthrough in a Barca shirt, prompted by the winning goal as the La Liga giants triumphed over Schalke in the 2008 Champions League quarter-final:
"Krkic had all the attributes we have come to expect from a La Masia graduate. He was skillful, he had wonderful balance, he was quick and he was a better dribbler than a baby with teething problems. He could score goals too.
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Bojan was the first footballer born in the 1990s to the feature in Europe's premier competition and was regularly feted as one of the finest young talents in world football.
Such early success is often paired with psychological struggles, however, and the striker's fortunes in Spain diminished.
A loan move to Roma saw Bojan score seven goals in 33 Serie A games, according to WhoScored.com, and the following season, at Milan, managed three in 19 appearances.
With the San Siro side the striker made just five league starts.
Last season's temporary move, to Ajax, was billed by Director of Football Marc Overmars as "time that he shakes off the label" of wonderkid, per the club's official website (h/t InsideSpanishFootball.com).
That final loan heralded four goals and three assists in 24 Eredivisie games.
The precedent was set for the wave of La Masia to wash over Stoke as Hughes signed promising young centre-back Marc Muniesa at the end of his contract with Barcelona, per BBC Sport.
Despite this, Bojan's move to the Premier League caught many by surprise, including new team-mate Steve Sidwell, who told talkSPORT (h/t the Stoke Sentinel) that "we couldn’t believe that the club had snapped him up."
The midfielder describes Bojan as "absolutely phenomenal."
A surprising sea change on the river Trent.
Stoke City Form
Last season's Potters, under new management in Mark Hughes, were somewhat of a revelation. Their previous incarnation, charged by the functional Tony Pulis, drew widespread criticism for purporting a negative style of play.
Joining Muniesa at the Britannia were Dutch full-back Erik Pieters and Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic.
Elsewhere, experienced Premier League performers in Peter Odemwingie and Stephen Ireland, who served as the side's playmaking No. 10, joined the new-look side.
Out went players such as Rory Delap, Dean Whitehead, Jermaine Pennant and Kenwyne Jones—symbols of the rough, direct Stoke of Pulis' reign.
This is what helped draw Bojan to the club, who told Malyon that he was encouraged how "they changed the style of Stoke for a more attractive style and that they still wanted to improve."
With his experience of stylish, attacking football with clubs such as Barcelona and Ajax, Bojan was the perfect fit.
This season Stoke's form has matched their encouraging change in style, with relative success in the league so far.
Hughes' side sit ninth in the table with 15 points, and they're a win away from the top four.
Bojan has started slowly at the Britannia—but has remained as determined as ever—and seems enraptured by the support shown by Potters fans, such as in the side's 2-2 draw at home to West Ham United.
However, the crowning moment of the 2014/15 season for Hughes' side so far was that most recent away victory over Spurs.
It was a truly fitting moment for Bojan to announce himself, as Stoke realised their adapted style most succinctly.
"Bojan's goal for #Stoke against #Spurs. Quality finish https://t.co/2sRoIak774
— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) November 9, 2014"
Bojan's impressive long-range strike, and the side's subsequent victory, should be built upon as Hughes looks to prepare during the international break.
Hitting the Target
Stoke's, and Bojan's, form has flourished as the Spaniard has settled in the Premier League, and the striker told Malyon that, on joining the side, "[Stoke] thought I needed to gain weight."
This physical preparation is now paying off, and Bojan continued: "I have worked hard to do that and now I have to work hard to stay in this shape and so that the team keeps playing well and winning points."
As a symbol of Hughes' developing, attractive style at the Britannia, Bojan's slow introduction and blossoming form is remarkably apt.
Now, the striker is hitting the goals he set on joining the Potters, as he suggests: "My target is enjoying [myself] and proving to myself that I am progressing."
This is encapsulated in his performance away to Spurs.
As the Premier League nears an English winter, the La Masia graduate may finally prove that it is possible to do it on a cold, wet Monday night in Stoke.
It will undoubtedly be a complicated season for a player adapting to a much more physical style of play, but there is no reason to suggest Bojan cannot reach double figures on the goalscoring charts in his maiden Premier League season.
Hughes is gaining a reputation for reaping the benefits of giving previously discarded players a chance, with the form of Victor Moses this season and Oussama Assaidi in the last evidence of this.
This may stem from his own managerial timeline, from Manchester City to Stoke.
Bojan seems set to be the next in the Welshman's list of rejuvenated figures.
It has been a long time coming for Bojan Krkic, but the Spaniard is finally threatening to become a goalscoring force in the most unlikely place—at Stoke City in the Premier League.
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