Premier League: Former Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic settling at Stoke and ready for fresh clash with Chelsea

Bojan Krkic made his name at Barcelona but is now hoping to build a career at Stoke City, writes Adam Bate.

Bojan Krkic will never forget his last encounter with Chelsea. Introduced five minutes from time with Barcelona down to 10 men and needing a goal to reach the Champions League final, he had one of the best views in the building to see Andres Iniesta’s goal stun Stamford Bridge.

Five years and two Champions League medals later, Bojan is preparing for his next meeting with Chelsea. Except this time he’s a Stoke City player having made the far from familiar journey from Barcelona to the Britannia Stadium.

Fortunately, he doesn’t have to look too far for support. Stoke boss Mark Hughes moved to Barcelona in 1986 and has shown a willingness to exploit that link, having previously brought La Masia graduate Marc Muniesa to the Potteries.

Excitement

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When the inevitable excitement came following Bojan’s arrival on a four-year contract in the summer, Hughes’ experience proved valuable – especially after the 24-year-old’s first two starts in front of his home crowd resulted in one-goal defeats to Aston Villa and Leicester.

Heady expectations were subsequently reined in and the tired clichés about windy nights in Stoke were soon getting another airing. Crucially, the manager was savvy enough to take the player out of the firing line where he could make the necessary adjustments.

Arguably he's been our best performer since he's come back in. He's worked hard, he's listened, understood what's required and when he came back in I knew he was ready.

According to Hughes, Bojan has had to work in the gym “all the time trying to work on his upper body strength which he hasn’t really needed to work on before” to adapt to the physical side of the game in England. As a result, he’s returned to the team better prepared to make an impact.

“He wasn't affecting games in the manner we would have liked initially,” said Hughes earlier this month. “But that was to be expected. We can't get too carried away because there is still a lot more to come from him, and that is exciting.

“Arguably he's been our best performer since he's come back in. He's worked hard, he's listened, understood what's required and when he came back in I knew he was ready. I can't claim to have known he would perform so well but certainly there was a good chance.”

The improvement has been marked. The best player on the pitch on his return to the starting line-up against West Ham in November, he followed up with an early goal in his first away start at Tottenham and an assist against Burnley. His recent finish in the win over Arsenal oozed quality.

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The underlying statistics are encouraging too. He’s creating an extra chance per 90 minutes since returning to the side and completing more dribbles too. Perhaps most importantly, he’s now at the heart of Stoke’s best work rather than on the periphery of their play.

“He demands the ball, he takes responsibility that comes from having confidence in your ability and understanding what’s required,” says Hughes. “He’s arguably getting better and having a better understanding of this team with every game he plays now.”

The next challenge is for Stoke to get Bojan fit enough to maintain his influence for longer. The team appeared to lose their way after his second-half withdrawal against Crystal Palace last weekend once that crucial link between Peter Crouch and the midfield had been broken.

Fear

The fear is that the Christmas period could prove problematic for a player used to winter breaks. Bojan has not played more than 1463 minutes of league football in a season – and that was seven years ago at Barca. Despite being eased in, he’s already had 811 minutes of Premier League action.

“We've talked about it,” says Hughes. “There may be games where you see the little edge to his game just appearing, we'll see how it goes, but we're mindful of the fact that as he hasn't been through it before it could be a hard period for him.”

The warning signs are already there and a hip complaint has restricted his training of late. But Bojan is expected to be fit to feature against Chelsea in a fixture that might just bring back a few memories for the Catalan forward.

Those Barcelona days are behind him but the big games need not be and a big role on Monday Night Football will go some way to further justifying Bojan’s unusual career path. “Where I will play next season is a decision that is key to my career,” he told Marca in the summer. For now, the left-field decision looks like it might just prove the right one.

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