Peter Crouch has said that Stoke City's ability to sign players such as Jonathan Woodgate, Wilson Palacios and Cameron Jerome prove that the club has established itself as a growing force in English football.

'The future is bright for Stoke,' said Crouch after completing a £10 million transfer to City. 'There are a lot of good players here, it has been a stable Premier League club for a few years now, it has excellent backing from the Chairman and it has top class supporters, so it's a great time to be part of the Club.'

The England forward also admitted that his former Tottenham Hotspur colleague Jonathan Woodgate was a major influence upon his decision to join Stoke City.

'Woody was on the phone every hour trying to persuade me to come here,' said the 6ft 7in striker after he had completed the signing from Tottenham. 'He only had great things to say about the Club and that was a major factor in me coming here. He spoke in glowing terms about the Club and the manager.'

Crouch will be in line to make his debut against one of his former clubs Liverpool in nine days time before facing Dynamo Kyiv in the Europa League.