Stoke City should look to send D’Margio Wright-Phillips out on loan in January.
D’Margio Wright-Phillips joined Stoke City in 2021, but his first-team chances have been limited.
D’Margio Wright-Phillips joined Stoke City in 2021, but his first-team chances have been limited.
The son of Shaun Wright-Phillips and the grandson of Ian Wright, it’s fair to say D’Margio has a lot to live up to. As a teenager, he played for Manchester City’s youth teams before signing for Stoke in February 2021 as a 19-year-old.
Wright-Phillips has struggled to get a real run of games under Stoke boss, Alex Neil, and it would make sense for him to go out on loan in January to gain more first-team experience. The tricky forward has bundles of potential but is yet to fully live up to it due to a lack of chances. Now that he is 22, it’s vital he plays regular first-team football very soon.
How has Wright-Phillips’ Stoke career gone so far?
For Stoke’s U21s, Wright-Phillips has chipped in with an impressive 16 goal contributions across 33 games in an attempt to stand out to his first-team manager. He was handed his professional debut in January 2022 as The Potters knocked Leyton Orient out of the FA Cup, with Wright-Phillips starting on the right of a front three.
His first professional goal for Stoke arrived just two weeks later in a 3-2 loss at home to Fulham in the Championship. His first-team chances grew shorter and shorter, unfortunately, and he struggled to get into the squad at times. Wright-Phillips’ only other goal for Stoke came at the start of the 2022/23 campaign as he grabbed a 90th minute equaliser against Middlesbrough after coming off the bench 13 minutes prior.
By the January of last season, the 22-year-old had failed to start a single Championship game for Stoke and was making the odd appearance for their U21s, where he scored three in four games. So far in the 2023/24 season, it appears Wright-Phillips has been completely frozen out of the first team and is only making youth appearances. A loan spell is certainly calling his name.
Where should Wright-Phillips go on loan?
Last season, the versatile attacker spent the second half of the campaign on loan with Northampton Town in League Two.
The club earned promotion to League One, but Wright-Phillips failed to start a single game, making just seven appearances off the bench. The Cobblers were getting good results which made it difficult for the 22-year-old to replace anyone in the team.
If Wright-Phillips was to go out on loan this season, perhaps it should be for a club who actually desire a player of his profile and quality. In the large majority of his career appearances, he has played on the right-wing, but is more than capable of playing on the left or through the middle. This versatility could be beneficial to many clubs in Leagues One and Two who could offer him regular game time.
His performances for Stoke, when handed the chance, have shown to many people that he is more than capable of playing at a decent level, but it is now time for him to get a run of games somewhere in the EFL. His stint at Northampton was not reflective of how good Wright-Phillips can be, so he should go to a club who will let him shine.
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