Meet Josh Stokes
Meet Josh Stokes
Everything you need to know about our new attacking midfielder
If you cast your mind back a few weeks, after a chastening defeat at home to Crawley, the words “number 9” were on everyone’s lips. Granted, they might still be, just in a different way now. But back then it was all the mystery, clamour and expectation for a potential “marquee” striker that was the missing piece to Monk’s jigsaw.
It was a surprise, then, when Josh Stokes was the next signing to be announced. Arriving on loan from Bristol City, Stokes is an industrious yet creative attacking midfielder, operating primarily centrally but also off the wing if needed. In our system, it was instantly obvious he would take up one of the attacking midfield slots behind Lavery and eventually (hopefully, we thought) another striker. Essentially in the same positions Kaikai and Kachunga take up.
While those two players specifically have started the season with legitimate question marks around their performance levels, and another option is certainly welcomed, it still felt on his announcement that the overwhelming reaction to Stokes was that, crucially, he is not a striker.
It’s very harsh on Stokes to judge him as a signing by the fact he doesn’t play in a certain position. If you suspend the eternal striker question for a minute, this looks like it could be a really astute signing, and one that makes sense for all parties.
Stokes is a 20-year-old, 5-foot-8 attacking midfielder. He started his career at Ipswich Town, his local club. Released at age 16, just four years ago he dropped into AFC Sudbury’s academy, breaking through into the senior team in 2021/22 at just 17 years of age. We know all too well with our own Liam Bennett that Sudbury know how to produce a decent player. He scored 18 in 75 in his spell at Sudbury, which was rewarded with a move to National League Aldershot Town.
It was there where he really made his name last season. The Aldershot Town Supporters Club pick up the story:
Josh Stokes joined us from AFC Sudbury in the summer of 2023 and arrived as a complete unknown. In his introductory interview he described himself as an attack-minded, forward-thinking player, and it didn't take us long to see these qualities on the pitch as he immediately became one of our most important & influential players.
He impressed on his debut and capped the performance with a goal, which was the first of 18 he hit for us. He scored goals with both feet and has a great ability to stay calm in front of goal. I remember his clean first time finishes from inside the box and one-on-ones where he looked relaxed & composed. He also scored against higher division Swindon & Stockport in our FA Cup run.
He has superb passing ability, often intricate with an ability to split a defence. He's strong on the ball for a relatively small player and really uses his body well to shield the ball and turn defenders. He's confident & comfortable in possession and not afraid to take the ball in all areas of the pitch.
If I had to identify a weakness then maybe that would be his heading, but as a team that plays on the floor it could be that we just didn’t see that side of him. He also picked up 15 yellow cards & had a tendency to be on the back of the referee. Josh was a real fans favourite and, as disappointed as we were to see him move on so quickly, he left with all our blessings and well wishes.
Off the pitch he's a very unassuming lad, who comes across as shy and quiet. He always had time for fans at the end of games as he'd often be seen signing autographs and having photos with kids before heading down the tunnel. He's an all round talent that will flourish in an attacking team, and I wish him all the best in his loan spell at Cambridge.
Having read quite a few of these opposition fan reviews of new signings this summer, this one is particularly glowing. There’s a few interesting things to pick out there: 18 goals from attacking midfield, even at National League level, is seriously impressive and indicates a player with genuine quality. Whether he can make the step up is the question, but the signs are promising.
If he was going to have any weakness, from our perspective heading is the perfect one - I can’t imagine with the way Monk wants to play he’ll be expected to be getting his head on the end of things too much, and more likely as we saw against Blackpool he’ll take up those positions on the edge of the box when we’re attacking.
The other thing we saw ourselves in his debut off the bench for the U’s was his penchant for a booking. He’s a feisty player. 15 yellow cards last season is a lot - too much over a season really, and something Monk will want to temper out of him.
This sparkling season at Aldershot caught the attention of Championship side Bristol City. Signing for a quarter of a million pounds, they sent him straight back on loan there to finish the season.
Having received a message from Bristol City’s podcast Three Peaps In A Podcast asking us to keep them up to date this season as there was a lot of excitement around Stokes, we asked them for a summary of his time at Ashton Gate so far, despite the little game time of his they’ve seen:
Josh Stokes is an interesting one. We bought him back in January and loaned him straight back to Aldershot at the time. He's very physical and excellent both at playing killer passes and hitting the back of the net. He has a really good attitude and willing to learn all the time. He was described as a lower league Kevin De Bruyne.
We've only seen him for about half an hour in a League Cup game ourselves, coming on off the bench in the Carabao Cup against Coventry. He looked really eager to get on the ball and took up some really good positions. You could tell he had a bit of pace about him and he was just really keen to get involved.
But that's the limit of what we've actually seen of him. We've got Scott Twine through the door, and George Earthy from West Ham, so two number 10s, if you like. And I think that's where Josh Stokes was going to be looking to play as well. So it makes sense for him to go on loan to Cambridge and hopefully get a full season with you. Earthy will go back to West Ham at the end of the season you would expect, so then in an ideal world Josh Stokes can come back in and be competition for Scott Twine.
The step up from non league to the Championship is a big one, and I think coming to play for Cambridge for the season with our old friend Korey Smith can only be good for both parties.
The feeling around Stokes’ potential is clearly positive. Now, it’s on Monk and his team to get it out of him.
The two performances we’ve seen so far from Stokes were quite different. Against Blackpool, he was instantly effective; terrier-like in getting after the ball; smart, composed, and creative when he was on it; and influential in helping us get back into the game. He had the golden chance to win it at the death too when the ball dropped to him on the edge of the box, but he could only find the keeper’s grateful hands. It is telling that he was probably the person everyone would have wanted that chance to fall to, just 30 minutes into his debut.
Against Bristol Rovers, he was much more anonymous. In what was a more generally disconnected team performance, he struggled to have much of an influence on the game, leaving U’s fans longing for a bit more of the industry he’d shown against Blackpool.
These things happen though, and two games don’t define a player. Stokes will have a big part to play this season, and we’re all as hopeful as Monk probably is that he has what it takes to make the step up to League One.