He left Stoke for greener pastures and is currently flourishing in the Premier League.
The club’s best second-tier finish after being demoted from the Premier League in 2018 is 14th place in the 20/21 and 21/22 seasons.
Despite their reputation as one of the most ambitious and high-spending teams in the division, the Potters have now missed numerous opportunities to advance to the play-offs.
Since Stoke’s relegation, a number of new players have been brought in with high transfer fees and expectations that have not been met.
But some have since departed, and gone on to bigger and better things since leaving the Bet365 Stadium.
One of those is Alfie Doughty.
After joining League One team Charlton Athletic when he was eight years old, the versatile Doughty began his career there. At the age of 18, he made his Addicks debut for the team in August 2018.
After making his debut, he went on loan to Kingstonian to get additional first-team experience. In 16 appearances across all competitions, he scored four goals. In 2019, he took out a second loan, this time to National League team Bromley for a month during the 19/20 season.
He had a regular appearance in the Charlton first team during the second part of the 19/20 season after being on loan to the Ravens.
He would go on to play 29 games, finishing with two goals and four assists, before they were demoted from the Championship on the last day. At the conclusion of the season, he was chosen as the team’s Young Player of the Year.
He had a strong start to the following campaign, but his season was cut short when he sustained a hamstring injury against Northampton Town. But interest in the January transfer window did not disappear because of that injury.
Doughty declined The Valley’s offer of a new contract, opting instead to join Stoke for an unknown sum in
He was sidelined for the remainder of that season and found it difficult to establish himself with Stoke manager Michael O’Neill at the time. During his first full season with the Potters, he only made 11 Championship appearances, and he did not start any.
He had more opportunities in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, starting games and dishing out assists, but his sparse league appearances as a left wing-back substitute fell short of expectations, and his lack of playing time forced him to sign a one-year loan with Championship rival Cardiff City, where he scored just once in nine games.
In the summer of 2022, after failing to make an impression at Stoke, he would depart to sign a contract with his current team, Luton Town, for an amount to be disclosed.
It could not have gone better for the wing-back in his debut season with the Hatters.
They would go on to win the play-offs and gain promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the team’s existence. In 31 Championship games, Doughty would score twice and provide five assists.
He has become stronger and stronger throughout this season.
He has made 25 appearances in the top division thus far, with one goal and six assists, as Luton valiantly battles relegation.
His crossing from the left-hand side has caught people’s eye in particular, averaging 2.96 successful crosses per 90, more than anyone else in the division.
The 24-year-old’s performances have even led to rumours of him being potentially called up to the England squad by Gareth Southgate.
Stoke will now be looking on with a lot of regret. Doughty will definitely be worth a lot more than the fee they sold him to Luton for, and the better he gets, the more stupid the Potters will look for letting him go and barely giving him a chance.
It looks set to go down as yet another transfer mishap since they dropped out of the top flight.
