Managerless Stoke completes Moritz Bauer signing

Stoke City completed its first move of the January transfer window on Tuesday, despite Mark Hughes being relieved of his managerial duties over the weekend.

Austrian international Moritz Bauer has signed a four-and-a-half year contract with the Potters, bolstering Stoke's options on the right-hand side of defence. The Staffordshire club's news release said Bauer underwent a medical and agreed to terms to join from Rubin Kazan last week.

"Moritz is a player we have been trailing for some time and was someone Mark Hughes wanted to bring into the club," revealed chief executive Tony Scholes.

He added: "He's a very highly regarded player who broke into the Austrian senior side last year and he adds to the defensive resources at our disposal."

Hughes regularly fielded a back-three before he was shown the door following Saturday's shameful 2-1 FA Cup loss at fourth-tier Coventry City. Forward Mame Biram Diouf was often tasked with right wing-back duties, with veterans Glen Johnson and Geoff Cameron losing their grip on first-team inclusion. Eighteen-year-old Thomas Edwards has also been deployed there after being named the club's Young Player of the Season in 2016 and 2017.

Bauer, 25, broke into the Austria squad for World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Moldova, and a friendly win over Uruguay in 2017. He earned a move to Rubin Kazan in June 2016 after learning his trade at Grasshopper Zurich.