When Stoke City came calling in the January transfer window, Milan Smit didn’t need long to make up his mind.
The Dutch striker says his move in January was a “dream” opportunity that arrived suddenly, escalated quickly and simply couldn’t be turned down. He tells all to Voetbal Primeur today.
A transfer that changed everything
Milan Smit had already been impressing in the Netherlands with Go Ahead Eagles since joining them in 2024, with 13 goals and five assists in 54 games.
He’d also impressed at SC Cambuur, with 28 goals and six assists in 63 games for them. That European form had already put him on several radars, but the decisive moment for the 23-year-old came the day before a clash with Ajax.
“My agent called and said: There is a club that has serious interest. I immediately asked if the match against Ajax could be my last for Go Ahead. ‘That could be the case,’ he replied.
“I think everyone knows Stoke City. At that time, the club was also still reasonably close to the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League. That is really Stoke’s ambition.
“My girlfriend was sitting next to me when my agent called. I immediately said to her: I just have to do this.”
Good audition, bad exit
He scored in that game against Ajax, something which aided negotiations with Stoke the next day.
“I had a meeting with Stoke the day after the match against Ajax. It’s nice then if you’ve just shown what you’re capable of,” he laughs.
“The interest came as a surprise to everyone, including me. I wasn’t planning on leaving this winter at all… When something like this comes along in the winter, you shouldn’t hesitate.”
The transfer took nine days to sort. That left him choosing not to play when Go Ahead travelled to take on OGC Nice. That decision did not go down well, but he justifies it.
“If you do play, you are simply taking a risk. I didn’t want to take that, because this was a fantastic deal for me that I didn’t want to miss out on. It was a train I had to jump on.”
Why Stoke City was the perfect fit
Stoke City had some convincing to do. They needed to sell the striker on their project and ensure that their ambition matched his own.
Fortunately for the Championship side, both sets of ambitions aligned.
“Naturally, you want to hear the club’s plan and ambition,” he said.
“That actually all aligned with what I wanted. They wanted to sign me as their first-choice striker. They see me as a potential Premier League player. That showed a huge amount of confidence and made me want to come here.
“Stoke said they had been following me since last season, If I am fit, I want to play every game.”
A warm club with big ambitions
Asked to describe the club, Milan Smit doesn’t hesitate. “It is a very warm club… It’s a kind of friends’ team, and I really appreciate that.”
He can already feel himself improving, despite an underwhelming return of two goals and one assist in 11 games so far. He has his eyes on progression, particularly to the Premier League.
“I signed a contract here for four and a half years and I hope to take the next step within two and a half or three years. I always said Serie A, but I also think England is incredibly beautiful,” he added.
“If I have to name one league, I would therefore say the Premier League.”
Milan Smit settling in off the pitch
The forward has been settling into his Stoke City life on and off the pitch. Naturally, given Stoke isn’t a big city, he’s been spending some of his free time in Manchester.
Living on his own, Smit is enjoying life even if he is living away from his girlfriend.
“Stoke isn’t the nicest city to live in, haha. Most of the guys live in and around Manchester. I live fifteen minutes from Manchester and I’m really happy here. My girlfriend lives and studies in the Netherlands, but she has enough free time to come here regularly,” said Smit.
“That’s nice. I was practically living with her in Deventer, so it takes some getting used to doing everything on my own again. I’m fine being alone, though. Sometimes it’s actually quite nice.”
