Jonathan Walters: Stoke City sporting director wants to sign several players before pre-season

Walters previously said he saw the next 12 months as a time for continued improvement rather than setting defined targets.

But, heading into the new campaign, he is adamant over how the team should shape its identity, with possession and energy key factors.

“If you look at our identity on the football pitch I am not a person that wants a goalkeeper to stand on the ball for 20 seconds – that’s not Stoke City,” Walters said.

“Any team that gets out the league, 95% to 99%, will have more possession.

“You’ve got to score more goals than the other team, you’ve got to get more shots on target, more balls in the box,” he said.

“We’re a team that needs to fight for each other, we need to show a certain identity on the pitch. So that affects the profile of player you’re looking at.

“You can’t have people that can’t run around the pitch, can’t get stuck into duels, can’t have tackles and that goes back to your identity.

“I see us as a football club [with] high energy, duels, pressing, get fans off the seat, you’ve got to show that desire. You’ve got to wear it.”

Walters also unlined the importance of unity with everyone at the club on those beliefs and said any new recruits will fit in.

“There’s a certain way I think a Stoke City team needs to play. I have that identity, so you need alignment across that from everyone.

“When you see players coming in the building, they’re not always going to be superstars but they’ll have some sort of super strength that really affects what we’re trying to do.”