Nathaniel Wedderburn has signed for Northampton Town after leaving the Potters at the end of last season.
Wedderburn, 18, never managed to take to the field for the Potters but was a regular in both reserve and academy sides and had been in the first team squad since the age of 16.
The dominant midfielder was first involved in the first team squad when he travelled to Crystal Palace for an away game in November 2007 and at the time was very highly rated by the Potters management.
Wedderburn signed a two year deal on his 17th birthday, the first available opportunity to sign professional terms, as the club tied him down to stave off interest from Everton and Liverpool amongst others, and immediately went out on loan to Notts County where he stayed for three months.
A loan spell at Hereford last season saw him gain more first team experience whilst he also broke into the England U19 squad and was involved as the Three Lions dominated their qualifying group but a succession of injuries over the last two seasons was enough to hamper his progress too much for him to get a new deal at the end of last season.