English Football League Championship side Stoke City has not approached the New York Red Bulls or made a formal request to contact star forward Lewis Morgan, a source confirmed with amNewYork on Tuesday.
Multiple rumors in recent days suggested that Stoke, who finished 21st in the second tier of English soccer last season, were in advanced talks with Morgan’s representation based on internet posts claiming Morgan’s agent, Gary Mellor, was at the club’s training ground at Clayton Wood.
At this time, the Red Bulls have no intention of selling Morgan, who is signed through the 2025 season with a team option for 2026. Granted, growing attention from bigger clubs worldwide is to be expected.
The 27-year-old Morgan is enjoying one of his career’s finest and most memorable seasons. After recovering from a hip injury that limited him to just five games last season, the fully healthy forward reeled off nine goals in his first 13 MLS matches of 2024.
The blistering start caught the attention of Scotland national team coach Steve Clarke, who chose Morgan as an injury replacement for his side at Euro 2024. It was the first time he had been called up to the Scottish team since 2019 and — after playing in their friendly against Finland and the final group-stage match of Euro 2024 against Hungary — his first appearance since 2018.
While he has not scored in his last five MLS matches, Morgan is still the Red Bulls’ leading scorer this season, which is an honor he held two seasons ago as well after potting 18 goals across all competitions.
His ascent in the United States continues revitalizing a career that had lost its luster on his home soil. Shortly after signing with Scottish powerhouses Celtic in 2017-18, he was immediately loaned to St. Mirren in Scotland’s second division where he scored 14 goals. The following year, he was loaned out to Sunderland in England’s third division (League One) where he recorded just one goal with five assists in 17 appearances.
He returned to Celtic during that same 2018-19 season but would only appear in 14 matches over the next two seasons before getting sold to Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami. He was traded to the Red Bulls in 2022 after scoring just seven goals in 57 matches for the Herons.
Stabilizing in New York could re-open the door for a return to Europe one day which would open up more opportunities to break into the Scottish national team. Morgan himself said that wearing the shirt of the Tartan Army were the “best moments of my career.”
“I would love for nothing more to make it to the point where it’s undeniable that I want to be on that squad,” Morgan told amNewYork in February. “That’s still my goal.”
If Morgan or the Red Bulls were to explore the option of selling him back to an English or Scottish side, it certainly would not come at a time like this. They recently subtracted from their midfield by selling Frankie Amaya to Liga MX Toluca. On top of that, Morgan is their most affluent attacker during a season in which New York sits fourth in the Eastern Conference with 12 games remaining in league play and with Leagues Cup action beginning later this month.
