D’Margio Wright-Phillips: Stoke City’s new golden boy

D’Margio Wright-Phillips, son of Shaun and Grandson of Ian Wright. It is safe to say that a hefty weight has been placed onto his shoulders.

The 20-year-old prospect did his family proud, showcasing his flair during a Man of the Match performance for Stoke City on Sunday afternoon. He helped the Potters cruise past a lacklustre Hull City side, beating the Tigers 2-0 at the MKM Stadium and maintaining his team’s hopes for a top six finish.

Jacob Brown opened the scoring for Michael O’Neill’s men. The forward connected with an out-swinging Sam Clucas cross and powered his header home, despite the absence of his manager due to COVID.

Clucas also orchestrated the second just five minutes after the interval. Two ex-Tigers linked up as Stoke’s number seven pulled the ball back to Tom Ince, whose curling effort wrong-footed Hull stopper Nathan Baxter and doubled the visitors’ lead.

Strong performances emanated from all areas of the Stoke City squad on Sunday, but that of D’Margio Wright-Phillips was without doubt the most encouraging.

Following the starlet’s senior debut against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup last weekend, he was chosen to lead the line again in the league, alongside Brown. The line-up seemed somewhat peculiar, and was questioned by Stoke supporters, but the risk paid dividends by full time.

Wright-Phillips had an immediate impact, linking well with Brown and beating opposition players with ease throughout the first half. Furthermore, in the second period he could have added a goal by bending his outside of the box effort a handful of inches over the crossbar.

Overall, he completed a game-high of seven dribbles, showing his confidence to take on a man. Every time the ball landed at his feet he was determined to exploit any space that had been vacated by the shaky Hull defence.

The diminutive playmaker was fouled three times, won six duels and shot twice before being replaced by debutant Lewis Baker, who signed on a free transfer from Chelsea on Saturday, to round off a fantastic display.

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Talk to us about this guy ?

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— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) January 16, 2022

Wright-Phillips arrived in the Potteries on deadline day last January after completing a move from Manchester City. He was immediately integrated into Kevin Russell’s under 23s setup and has impressed ever since, showing his natural ability on the ball as well as scoring five goals in 22 games.

After having a relatively unproductive academy during their stint in the Premier League, since dropping down to the second tier, the Staffordshire outfit’s youth production has ramped up significantly with various young talents entering the first team frame.

Tyrese Campbell and Nathan Collins have been the most successful alumni of the City academy since their relegation in 2018, with the latter leaving the club in favour of Burnley last summer for £12.6 million. Campbell, on the other hand, still plies his trade in ST4 and proved prolific prior to his lengthy period on the sidelines last term due to a ligament injury.

Furthermore, centre back duo Will Forrester and Connor Taylor have both made senior appearances within the last two years. However, neither could solidify their spots in the starting 11 so have subsequently been out on loan with Mansfield Town and Bristol Rovers respectively.

Finally, just last week Wright-Phillips made his senior debut and was replaced by striker Emre Tezgel in the closing stages. Aged just 16 years and 112 days, City’s number 37 became the club’s youngest ever senior player. He has impressed at youth level and this week captained the under 18s in the FA Youth Cup against Blackburn Rovers.

It’s safe to say that Stoke’s future is looking bright, with the emergence of Wright-Phillips just the beginning. The Potters currently sit eighth in the Championship but face a difficult run of fixtures over the coming weeks.

With injuries rife within the squad, will any of the youngsters be able to etch their way into Stoke City folklore by helping them mount a play-off push?

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