In football, as in life, a person's early 20s are a time for learning.

Nathan Lowe has been doing a lot of that since the start of last season - not least due to the fact the 20-year-old is in his second year of a Business Management degree, with the help of the PFA's Business School. More on that later.

Though he made his debut for Stoke at 17 and started to make inroads to the first team under Alex Neil and Steven Schumacher in 2023/24, last term he went on loan to Walsall and, in 30 appearances in all competitions, scored 18 goals and provided seven assists.

He was absolutely flying - until Stoke recalled him on January 12. Throughout the second half of the campaign, he played five times from the start, five times from the bench and scored once. It was a frustrating end.

Stoke and m

See Full Page