Bojan Krkic: How Mark Hughes Succeed Where Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique Failed?

When Stoke City's Mark Hughes made a big gamble on ex Barcelona and AS Roma player Bojan Krkic, it was dubbed by many as a move that he will live to regret and may cost him his job. Bojan was acquired for €1.8 million from Barcelona in 2014.
Fast forward to January 2015, when Bojan got injured and you will see a feeling of disappointment and agony by the same people. The reason is that in the little time Bojan had at the club, Hughes transformed him and got the best out of him. This is something that even the likes of Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Frank de Boer could not do. In Bojan, Hughes had succeeded where they all failed.

The news that Bojan is back to training after sitting out more than seven months due to injury will come as a huge relief not just to Mark Hughes or Stoke City fans but lovers of Football in General. This is because Bojan hit the ground running immediately after joining the premier league club in the summer of 2014. In total he started 13 league games and made two substitute appearances. He scored four goals and made one assist. He was used primarily as an attacking midfielder just behind striker  Biram Diouf but he was also given the freedom to drift into the wing or any attacking position as and when due. With his small body frame, Bojan was a major doubt in the EPL. Possessing a height of 170cm and 65kg body weight, it looked as though he was too light weighted to be a success in the EPL. Those doubts were set aside with his performance. It was difficult to decipher how Bojan, who is used to possession free flowing football will adapt to the long ball defensive football style that Stoke is known for. With the appointment of Mark Hughes, entertainment has returned to the Britannia Stadium. Hughes has changed the Stoke’s  to a more proactive and front foot style of play. First of all to make Bojan thrive, Hughes signed a direct winger in Marko Arnautovic, tricky winger Victor Moses on loan from Chelsea and loaned Robert Huth to Leicester City, replacing him with ball playing centre back Marc Muniesa and signed Pacey striker  Biram Diouf from Hannover. This has really helped Bojan , as he has thrived having such attacking players around him. A look at the stats from Stoke shows that Stoke scored just nine goals from dead-ball situations last season unlike the 2012/2013 season which was Tony Pulis' last season which accounted for 18 goals from dead-ball situations.

What stands Bojan out is his passing accuracy which was 85% last season and his ability to hold on to the ball to bring other players into play despite his small size compared to other attackers. Also Bojan, is a type of player who thrives in taking on defenders and dribbling his way into dangerous positions, giving key passes or through balls where necessary. What he must therefore work on, is his finishing which is poor for a player of his standard and his aerial duels. This is manifested in his last season stat which shows that he won 0.1 duels in each match he played in. This doesn't add up well and even with his slender body he has to work on his physical game if he is to blossom into one of the EPL best's.

It is now clear that in Stoke City, Bojan has cast away the demons that possessed him earlier in his career. He has proved it wrong to have termed him a wasted talent at the early age of 24. There is still a lot of improvements to be made but with Mark Hughes still in charge at Stoke, there are high hopes these good signs from Bojan is just a tip of the iceberg.