As the new Premier League season dawns, we cannot ignore one of the not-so-quiet revolutions that is being undertaken by one of the top flight clubs.
Just a couple of years since Stoke City were still being tarred with the long ball stereotype, they have suddenly found themselves with four talents acquired from Barcelona, the club which is an antithesis of the old Tony Pulis approach.
Bojan, Ibrahim Afellay, Marc Muniesa and youngster Moha El Ouriachi have swapped the Nou Camp for life at the Britannia in the last two summers and that's piqued much curiosity.
Fortunately, Off The Ball's European football correspondent Graham Hunter was on hand tonight to give us an explanation - and as he says, it's not just because manager Mark Hughes once played at Barcelona.
"First of all, it's important to know that it's not because Mark Hughes played at Barcelona. But he came away from La Liga knowing that he had not been ready, hadn't adapted and missed an opportunity," he said.
"There was a stage that Mark was learning Spanish and fully intended at some stage to pursue a managerial career in La Liga. And who knows? That may still come.
"When they were offered Marc Muniesa, the defender that probably started this progression from football club Barcelona, they were offered by a friend of mine and the deal was very nearly done. It fell through and Muniesa's nearest associate pushed the deal through, got Muniesa there. The guy who did the Muniesa deal made it clear to Stoke that where there is an appetite for good football - we know that in that last season Tony Pulis really opted for a slightly more stylish, thoughtful and technical brand of football - Mark Hughes has definitely continued that and having embedded Muniesa and his people there, the link was established, such that they used the person who brought Muniesa as an extra pair of scouting eyes in La Liga."
Meanwhile, Graham also gave his take on Lionel Messi's headbutt in Barcelona's friendly against Roma last night, while he also gave his take on Liverpool target Adama Traore.
