Monday 31 October 2016 19:02, UK
Stoke striker Wilfried Bony faces old club Swansea on Monday Night Football still seeking his best form. Adam Bate examines the player’s struggles and why there’s hope for the future…
When Stoke loaned Wilfried Bony from Manchester City on deadline day it had to be seen as a coup. At 27, Bony should be in his prime. He's a player who moved for £28m only last year and one Mark Hughes quickly hailed as a "top-class striker". It was, he said, "a no-brainer".
The Stoke boss also admitted he was "surprised" by Bony's failure to succeed at City but the move to a new environment has not transformed those fortunes just yet. Six games into his Stoke career and Bony is still looking for his first Premier League goal of 2016.
It's not just the lack of goals. Bony can appear sluggish when not at his best and it's costing him opportunities. There was a slip when well placed to net against Crystal Palace, while a delay when seemingly through on goal at Hull allowed Michael Dawson to make the block.
Expectations are now being downplayed. "It's fair to say that we are going to have to be patient," Hughes admitted seven weeks after talking up the signing. "Wilfried hasn't had a consistent run of games for some time, so we are trying to get him up to speed."
Stoke have dismissed suggestions that the player's attitude could be a problem and there were certainly no signs of a lack of enthusiasm upon his arrival - joining in with training within minutes of a deal being agreed on the final day before the transfer window closed.
![Wilfried Bony's shots so far for Stoke City in the Premier League [Opta]](https://e0.365dm.com/16/10/768x432/wilfried-bony-stoke-city-opta_3817472.jpg?20161026174054)
He's eager to get back in a rhythm but at first glance the numbers are a little worrying. It's understandable that Bony is not running as much as Mame Biram Diouf. They are very different players, after all. But thus far Bony is also being outsprinted by Peter Crouch.
Crouch's stats are padded by two late run-outs in which he briefly hared around the field but that doesn't alter the fact that Bony's movement is well below the Premier League norm. And yet, examine the Ivorian in his prime and the story is a very similar one.
When he scored for Swansea away to Stoke in 2014 he covered less ground than any outfield player who completed the game. It was the same the following week against Leicester when he ran only eight kilometres in 90 minutes. He also scored a brace.
"Even when he wasn't scoring, he was still contributing very well to the team," said Garry Monk at the time. "His contribution in terms of hold-up play, winning the ball, bringing others into the game and fighting for the team can be bigger than a goal sometimes."
That's the Bony that Stoke are seeking to rediscover. Not the forward who can run the channels but the powerful figure who can be relied upon to hold the ball up. If Bony can do that he will encourage others to make those runs and the team functions better as a result.
"He gives me the confidence to go forwards," former Swansea team-mate Jonathan De Guzman explained. "If you're not sure someone will keep hold of the ball you're hanging back a little, but with Bony it's not like that. You're still thinking in that attacking mode."
Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling enthused about Bony's "brilliant" hold-up play and Xherdan Shaqiri is already an admirer. "It's not simple for him at times because he works incredibly hard to keep hold of the ball up front," he said. "I've enjoyed playing with him."
In truth, Stoke haven't yet seen the best of this hold-up play, although it's perhaps telling that Shaqiri has joined his manager in highlighting the quality that Bony has shown on the training ground. He's had a "real positive impact behind the scenes", according to Hughes.
This echoes the sentiments of Monk who saw Bony as a "massive character in the changing room" and Shaqiri's description of the Ivorian as "a very good guy" who "works a lot in the week" as well. The Stoke supporters are the ones who are being made to wait.
For now, it's a case of searching for hints and clues of what is to come. "Certainly against Manchester United we felt his hold-up play improved markedly and he was bringing people into the game which is something we like," added the manager.
Perhaps the signs are there in the improved performances of others. In the transformation of Joe Allen into an effective No 10 who has the confidence to make those forward runs just as De Guzman did. Maybe it's reflected too in the displays of Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic.
But after 466 minutes in a Stoke shirt without one, Bony needs a goal. "He's a top-level striker and just needs to get up and running," insists Hughes. Monday's reunion with the club where he made his Premier League name could be the perfect opportunity.
