Stoke City are apparently preparing to begin their summer transfer business by signing former Sheffield United loanee Djibril Soumare for a figure that has many people surprised.

According to Onze Mondial, the Potters have agreed to pay €4.5 million (£3.9 million) for the 23-year-old, who had a rocky debut in the EFL at Bramall Lane last season.

The 23-year-old arrived on loan from Braga in August and was one of Ruben Selles’ many new signings who failed to make an impression. His loan move had an obligation to buy if certain requirements were met, but the Blades will not retain him in South Yorkshire indefinitely.

Soumare made only 27 games for Sheffield United in all competitions, six of which came after the January transfer window closed, when Chris Wilder recruited extensively in the midfield, bringing in Kalvin Phillips and Joe Rothwell.

With only two appearances in the remaining 12 games of the season, few in the bleachers at Bramall Lane were disappointed to see him leave, and many are astonished to see him on the verge of returning to the Championship for a decent seven-figure amount.

Sheffield United fan pundit doubts Stoke City’s £3.9 million signing of Djibril Soumare

Record, a Portuguese outlet, said at the time of Soumare’s transfer to Sheffield United that the obligation to buy if the criteria were met would have been €10 million.

In some ways, one of the few benefits of the terrible campaign last term was that they didn’t have to pay such a high sum for someone who had little impact on the pitch.

However, at only 23, the midfielder has the potential to hit the ground running somewhere, and Jimmy, FLW’s Sheffield United fan analyst and host of the Blades Ramble, admits that he didn’t get much of an opportunity at Bramall Lane.

Soumare only started three consecutive league games once, which ended when he was sent off against Charlton Athletic in January. From then on, he only made three more starts for the Blades and battled to regain his place in the team.

However, he believes that the £3.9 million asking price for his return to the division with Stoke is a blatant overpayment.

“I’m surprised he’s going for that price,” the fan commentator stated.”When we first signed him, there was a loan fee and an obligation to buy for €10 million, which was a ridiculous price based on his performance.”There’s certainly something to him as a player; he has potential and was perhaps man of the match in two of his three games last season. He’s highly inconsistent, but he didn’t get a clean run in the team, thus Stoke may be getting a fine player, albeit at a premium price. “I wouldn’t have paid that much.”If you have £1 million or £1.5 million to play with, he may be worth taking a chance on. But that is a high price for Soumare, and I’m not sure it’s a good bargain for the money.”

Djibril Soumare has a lot to live up to if Stoke City invest £3.9 million on his services.

Soumare will be under a lot of pressure if he joins Stoke for such a high amount.

The 23-year-old will be looking to establish that he can be a good engine room operator in the Championship after a disappointing season with an underperforming Sheffield United team, and he will want to show the Blades what they were missing out on last season.

Recently, however, such a fee has not been associated to Stoke arrivals. He’ll be under immediate pressure to deliver at the bet365 Stadium to justify his high price tag, and Blades fans who saw him last season plainly don’t believe he can.

Nonetheless, if the Senegalese midfielder can prove himself under Mark Robins and prove to be a good signing, the Potters will have someone who can pull the strings in midfield for years to come as they seek to re-enter the promotion race, with the play-offs expanding to six teams from next season.

Only time will tell if Stoke’s warning signs about Soumare come true, or if the 23-year-old is rejuvenated at a new Championship team.