Stoke City chief executive Tony Scholes has claimed that Bojan Krkic could be a "key player" for the club this season, despite being sent on loan for half of the 2016-17 campaign.

The 26-year-old attacker joined Mainz 05 in January, but he only managed to find the back of the net once in 11 outings.

Bojan impressed in his first season with the Potters following a switch from Barcelona in 2014, but after damaging his cruciate knee ligament in January 2015, he has struggled to find form.

Scholes, though, has claimed that Bojan will be part of the team for the 2017-18 campaign.

"Bojan will return to us on July 1 and who knows? Bojan might be an absolutely key player for us next year," Scholes told the The Sentinel. "Bojan, on his day, is as good as there is. He was a really important player for us. Perhaps he had his best days prior to his injury, best days for us that is."

The Spaniard scored three goals in nine Premier League appearances for Stoke last season.