The Potters were lucky to have survived last season after getting tangled up in one of the most thrilling relegation battles in recent memory.

An 18th-place finish, just two points above the drop zone, is obviously not good enough for Mark Robins and his Stoke side. They’ll expect much improvement in the coming campaign.

We’ve not seen many Stoke City signings through the door yet this summer, while a number of players have departed the club for futures elsewhere.

The players who departed the club have not fetched a fee anywhere near the fees fans will have become used to while Stoke were in the Premier League; the last time they were in the top flight was 2018.

EFL Analysis brings you the five most expensive sales Stoke City have ever made, according to Transfermarkt.

5. Asmir Begovic – £9.6 million

To start off our list is the Bosnian keeper after he fetched a fee of £9.6 million as Chelsea looked to bring him in to the London club in the summer of 2015 to be a back-up to Thibaut Courtois.

Asmir Begovic had been an important player for Stoke during his time at the club after he signed from Portsmouth in February 2010.

He spent five and a half seasons with the Potters, in which he helped maintain their Premier League status, and with his departure it felt like there was less of a presence in goal for them.

Begovic played 172 matches for Stoke and in that time famously scored one goal against Southampton.

4. Nathan Collins – £12.2 million

The Republic of Ireland international joined Stoke City as a youngster and came up through their academy.

Nathan Collins made his debut in April 2019 and featured in three matches that season for the club.

He would go on to establish himself over the next two seasons in the Championship, and he impressed in this period to earn a move to Burnley in the Premier League.

Since then, he has established himself as a reliable defender for both Wolves and Brentford.

3. Xherdan Shaqiri – £12.8 million

Xherdan Shaqiri’s signing for Stoke City was considered a bit of a coup after they brought him in from Inter Milan.

However, it continued a policy Stoke had been following at the time of buying players who had demonstrated potential at major European clubs but been unable to secure a regular place in the first team.

Shaqiri impressed in the three seasons he was at Stoke, becoming one of the club’s most important players in this spell as he scored 15 goals in 92 appearances.

The Swiss international then departed the club for Liverpool in 2018 to be an option from the bench and be part of the squad, as they signed him for £12.8 million.

2. Harry Souttar – £14.9 million

The Australian international is the most recent sale on this list, as he departed Stoke for Leicester City in January 2023 for a fee of £14.9 million.

Harry Souttar was brought in to help Leicester remain in the Premier League, but he did not have the desired impact, as the club were relegated.

He failed to establish his place in the team under Enzo Maresca as the side won promotion, and last season, he ended up on loan at Sheffield United.

In the six seasons of senior football at Stoke, he featured in 70 matches, as it took him until the 2020/21 season to break into the side.

1. Marko Arnautovic – £19.5 million

The most expensive sale that Stoke City have ever made is Marko Arnautovic, as the Austrian joined West Ham for a fee of £19.5 million in the summer of 2017.

Arnautovic had spent four seasons at Stoke after signing from German side Werder Bremen.

The Austrian international was never a clinical forward for Stoke, with his highest tally being 12 goals for them in his penultimate season.

In total he scored 26 goals across 145 appearances for Stoke before moving to Premier League rivals West Ham.