Stoke City have just completed a two-year deal for former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson today… and he will be making his debut for the Potters in Singapore at the Barclays Asia Trophy (BAT) this week.
New Stoke City signing Glen Johnson at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Singapore. Credit: Mark Scott.
Not Johnson’s first time in Singapore
This is not Johnson’s first time in Singapore though. He was last here in 2011, with the Liverpool squad. Said Johnson, “It is always special to be here because the fans love their English Premier League (EPL). There is huge support for Arsenal and Manchester United over here, as well as Liverpool.”
He added, “It should be a great buzz on Wednesday night with fans getting the chance to see three EPL teams play in two matches on the same night.”
Joined Stoke because he was impressed with Mark Hughes
Johnson chose to join Stoke because he had been impressed with manager Mark Hughes. He said, “I met Mark Hughes a week ago and was impressed with what he had to say. Stoke City is a club moving in the right direction and I want to be a part of it.”
He continued, “Stoke used to have a reputation for long balls and long throw-ins, but you can see what has happened since Mark has come in. They have progressed into a real footballing team. I don’t like to kick it forward. I like to play football and from what Mark has told me, he wants to do the same, so it should suit us both nicely.”
Will be up against former club Liverpool in his EPL debut
However, Johnson will be up against his old club, Liverpool, in his EPL debut for Stoke City when the League returns in August. On the final day of last season, Stoke City beat Liverpool by six goals to one.
Said Johnson on the thought of facing his old club so soon, “It’s funny how the fixture calendar works out like that sometimes. I owe Liverpool a lot. I had some good times there, played a lot of games throughout the year and i have a lot of friends there. So Liverpool will always stay close to my heart.”
He continued, “But hopefully, Stoke City will get the three points on the opening day of the Premier League season, though.”
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