Stoke's Hughes hails Joe Allen

On Wednesday night, the Welsh midfielder scored twice as Stoke City beat League One side Rochdale 4-0 at the bet365 Stadium.

"I thought Joe was excellent. He was an obvious choice (as captain) and he will step up and fill the gap in terms of leadership and direction of the group", Hughes said. 

The Welsh international was handed the captaincy for the first time and he also claimed an assist, setting up Peter Crouch for his first goal of the season. 

Hughes made eight changes to his starting XI and handed a debut to summer signing Josh Tymon.

The 18-year-old was bought from Hull and impressed on the left-hand side, and almost scored a goal in the second half.