Stoke City confirm new assistant manager for Mark Robins

Stoke City have unveiled Arsenal under-21s head coach Max Porter as Mark Robins’ new assistant manager.

The 38-year-old – a former midfielder who had a 13-year career in the EFL – has worked his way through the youth system over nine years at Arsenal from part-time coach with the under-9s to take over the 21s last summer.

He now joins James Rowberry, Ryan Shawcross and Darren Behcet in Robins’ first team set-up ahead of the return to Clayton Wood for pre-season later this month. It fills a vacancy created when Paul Nevin left the club in February.

Sporting director Jon Walters said: “Max arrives from one of the most elite and successful environments in the country, and we’re delighted to welcome him to Stoke City.

FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest Stoke City news, analysis and more via the Sentinel

“He has built a reputation as one of the brightest young coaches in the game and has played an important role in the development of a number of exceptional young players during his time at Arsenal.

“What stood out to us was Max’s drive, energy and ambition. He is constantly looking to improve, challenge and develop those around him, and we believe he will be a tremendous addition to our environment.

“As we continue to strengthen and add quality to our backroom staff, Max is another important appointment for the club, and we’re excited to see the impact he can make as we prepare for the season ahead.”

Porter is fresh from receiving his Uefa pro licence coaching badge and he has been part of the development of players including Myles Lewis-Skelly and Max Dowman during his time at Arsenal.

He reflected at the end of the season, his ninth year at the club, that the Arsenal academy had produced six first team debuts – including two 16-year-olds – and the youngest team in Premier League 2.

He said: “I've worked with the under-9s part-time, all the way up to this role now. I think we're an academy that develops young people and players to hopefully play for our first team and come through. But also, we develop staff. So I'm glad that it's part of my journey as well, to be able to come through and have the opportunity I've had at Arsenal. I feel privileged.

“As an under-21s head coach it can be a tough challenge to balance the ever-changing schedule, supporting first team training and preparation but most importantly making sure to develop every individual within the team. When you see some of these young players truly maximise their ability and achieve incredible goals in their careers it makes it all worthwhile.”

His arrival continues some pretty significant work behind the scenes during the off-season for Stoke.

Damian Roden has already returned as head of medical and performance, Stuart Harvey is arriving as technical director. Jack Higgins will join as academy director and a restructure of the under-21s set-up is due to be announced, including a new lead coach.

What do you think? Click HERE to join the debate

We have launched a WhatsApp group to deliver the latest Stoke news directly to your phone. Click the link select 'Join Chat' and you're in. If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave at any time by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking 'Exit Group', simple as that.

Every day, The Sentinel football desk strive to deliver news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Stoke City content.

Our dedicated reporter Pete Smith - who you can follow on X - follows Stoke home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.

If you prefer reading our Stoke stories on your phone, consider downloading The Sentinel app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Stoke City as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple