Stoke City sign Ryan Sweeney from AFC Wimbledon
Friday 5 August 2016 20:15, UK
Stoke City have completed the signing of AFC Wimbledon defender Ryan Sweeney on a three-year contract.
The Premier League side are believed to have spent £250,000 to sign the 19-year-old, who made 13 appearances last season to help his side claim promotion to League One.
Sky sources reported on Thursday that the fee for Sweeney could eventually reach £1m depending on bonus clauses in the deal between the clubs.
Republic of Ireland U18 international Sweeney moved to AFC Wimbledon in 2005 aged just eight and completed his route into the senior team when he made his Football League debut against Dagenham & Redbridge before his first start came against Oxford United in April 2015.
He made a further 10 senior appearances last season, all of them in the second half of the season, although he was an unused sub when the club beat Plymouth 2-0 to secure promotion via the play-offs at Wembley in May.
Sweeney told AFC Wimbledon's website: "Thank you to all the fans for your support and to the manager Neal Ardley for giving me my chance in football, I couldn't thank him enough."
