Important to build a strong dressing room - Walters
Walters: 'There's is still lots to do'
- Published
Stoke City sporting director Jonathan Walters is satisfied with the state of the first-team squad after making 10 new signings during the summer transfer window.
Transfers into the club included Aaron Cresswell from Premier League West Ham, Wales international Sorba Thomas and French forward Lamine Cisse from Bastia.
"We mainly hit all our main targets and players that we targeted with the recruitment team, with the coaching staff," Walters told BBC Radio Stoke.
The former Stoke player praised the efficiency of his recruitment team with the bulk of the Potters' work conducted in July and early August.
As rivals scrambled around to get deals done, midfielder Tomas Rigo was the only senior addition made in the final two weeks of the window with the Slovakian signed from Banik Ostrava on August 30.
"To get [signings] in early helps them settle, whether they're moving from a different country, whether it settles the family," Walters added.
"There's a lot of things that go into it to have a player settle at the club but then get to know everyone here get them integrated into how we train, how we play and the coaches always want them early.
"[We considered] how they fit into how we play, is there a space for them in the team, do we need that type of player and [could they help with] shaping where we want to see the club evolve."
One such player that fit that criteria is returning midfielder Steven Nzonzi, who last played for Stoke between 2012-2015 making 120 appearances, alongside former team-mate Walters. He re-signed this summer from Iran Pro League side Sepahan.
"Steven obviously knows the club very well, he feels like he has unfinished business and the club is his home," he said.
"Having a World Cup winner in and around the club, [brings] a standard. Whether that be doing things right, eating right, living right, rehab, gym, how you train, what you demand. There's lots of things he adds to the squad.
"It's really important that we build a really strong dressing room that allows people to challenge each other but does it in the right way [with] hunger and desire to really push on as a group."
Listen to the full interview with Jonathan Walters and more Stoke City on Sounds.
