“Able to play football again” – Stoke City player on why he had to leave the club, and where his head is now

Stoke City youngster D’Margio Wright-Phillips has revealed why he left the club in the January transfer window.

The 22-year-old has been speaking to Gazet van Antwerpen about this season and life at Beerschot in Belgium so far.

He joined the Challenger Pro League side at the end of January on loan until the end of the season, the latest in a series of loans away from Stoke in the last 18 months.

He originally joined them from Manchester City in February 2021 after spending several years with City, working his way through their youth ranks but never making it to the first team.

The youngster has already managed 20 appearances in Stoke’s first team but has spent the last year on loan away from the club, going to Northampton in January last year until the end of the season.

He’s now repeated that loan move but with a switch to Beerschot in Belgium, his first transfer outside of England, and explained why he’s made the move at this point in his career, detailing where his head is at this moment in time.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve been able to play football again and that’s still what I enjoy doing most,” he told the newspaper.

“For both the mental aspect and my development, it was good to move to another country. My focus is now completely on football. The rest will follow, but first I have to be able to give it 100 percent.

“I don’t like to look back. Stoke City loaned me to Beerschot so that I can play matches at a professional level again, but also enjoy the game again. You don’t have to look any further.”