McGlynn contender for signing of summer

Jack McGlynn came to Stoke as a relative unknown to anyone who was not keeping a very close eye on MLS, despite his presence on the fringes of the US national team.

Nine goals over a couple of seasons for Houston Dynamo, one of the league's less glamorous franchises, indicated promise.

But the impact he has made since moving to the Championship has revealed a 23-year-old ready to establish himself as an important player for club and country and shone a really favourable light on a league now exporting homegrown players of real quality with increasing regularity.

He came to Stoke with a reputation as someone who struck the ball well from distance but his goal at Blackburn gave everyone at Ewood Park the understanding that his quality goes far beyond a mere ability to hit the ball cleanly.

Standing over a free-kick, McGlynn spotted that Blackburn goalkeeper Balasz Toth had left an inviting gap at his near post, choosing to position himself higher and wider anticipating a cross.

To see that, have the confidence to shoot from a position just infield from the left touchline and then follow that intention through with clinical accuracy showed a mix of vision, composure and quality that very few players in the second tier possess.

McGlynn now has four goals and two assists in eight starts and 10 overall appearances and has firmly established himself as the player most likely to replicate the numbers Sorba Thomas produced (double figures in both categories) last season before the latter moved to Hull.

His set-piece delivery is good, he is mobile enough without fitting the stereotype of the hyper-athletic MLS midfielder and he has still got plenty of room to grow.

McGlynn is still acclimatising to the Championship and could still be more influential in possession in open play, but he has made an incredible start to his Stoke career and alongside Ethan Galbraith and Luke Graham, he is an early contender for signing of the summer.