Fleetwood Town loan spell is just what Stoke City youngster needed

The Stoke City loanee had never left the Bet365 Stadium before, progressing through the ranks with the Potters and making his debut in the Premier League against a star-studded Manchester City team.

The 21-year-old appeared for the first time in a Town shirt during the week against Accrington Stanley, coming off the bench, and will be pushing for a start this afternoon at Gillingham.

He said: “It’s been a new experience, it’s the first time I’ve been on loan from the club that I’ve always been at but I’m enjoying it.

“I’m glad I’ve come out, I’m learning new things every day.

“Joey Barton is a great manager and I’m learning new things from him, and it’s a great group of lads.

“It’s very different and I think I needed a new experience in my career.

“I’ve gone straight from the academy at Stoke into the first team without any loan moves, so I think this is what I’ve been missing out on.

“I know a few of the lads at Stoke have been out on loan and come back even stronger, so that’s what I’m looking to do.

“I tried to come back in during pre-season as strong as I could but felt like I was out of favour, which happens in football.

“I’ve seen it before but it was the first time it’s happened to me, so that’s a new experience as well.

“It was bound to happen at some point and I was speaking to my agent and I wanted to come out on loan.

“I heard that Fleetwood were interested so I spoke to Harry Souttar and he let me know how great a club it is.

“I thought I’d get myself down here and hopefully I can go back as strong as he has.”

The defender thinks it’s important to get a win this afternoon against Gillingham.

Edwards might only have been at Highbury for a short while but, even in that time, he has developed a favourable impression of his new team-mates.

He said: “It’s very important, I feel like it’s a great game to bounce back in.

“We were very unfortunate against Accrington but we’re looking to bounce back and get three points on the board.

“Sometimes it’s just about getting the right performance.

“If we perform to the best we can, in this division, we can take everyone to the end of the game and I’m sure we can get three points.”