Stoke forward Maxim Choupo-Moting has never cost a penny in transfers... He's free, he's fresh and Manchester United couldn't stop him

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Conclusions can easily be drawn with a quick glance at Maxim Choupo-Moting's numbers. Only three Bundesliga goals last season. Ten is his record. He has never cost a penny in transfer fees.

But things added up on Saturday evening. A poacher's double, embarrassing the previously impressive pair of Phil Jones and Eric Bailly. The unknown striker announced himself in the Potteries four weeks after arriving.

Mark Hughes spent a long time trailing Choupo-Moting. Now we can see why Stoke put the hours in, watching him flounder at Schalke last season but coming away believing there was something to be polished. It is not merely a numbers game.

Stoke City forward Maxim Choupo-Moting celebrates the first of his Manchester United brace

Choupo-Moting rose at the far post to earn Stoke a share of the spoils at the bet365 Stadium

So, only three goals for Schalke last year? And one of them was a penalty. Choupo-Moting slipped out of the back door when released by Schalke in June. He played 30 times in his final campaign but struggled to click, not scoring since November.

It was a tame end to a three-year spell. He had earlier struck up a decent partnership with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar but the emergence of Guido Burgstaller put paid to them both.

Huntelaar, also let go, departed to great fanfare and bouquets of flowers, while the 28-year-old moved out of the way to Mengkofen five hours south of Gelsenkirchen for the summer before Stoke came knocking. Nobody had seen him since April, when injury ended his campaign.

His career has drifted until this point. Schalke's sporting director, Christian Heidel, claimed 'there is almost nothing Maxim cannot do' but has twice allowed him to leave for nothing - the first time being at Mainz in 2014. That cannot be a coincidence.

Stoke manager Mark Hughes has given the Cameroon international his chance on a free

Choupo-Moting celebrates with Kurt Zouma after finding the near post for his opening strike

What are Stoke getting then? 'He's big, he's powerful and technically he's excellent,' Hughes said. 'He can take the ball and create in one-on-one situations.'

Not everything Choupo-Moting tries comes off. Stoke have enjoyed their fair share of flair players in recent seasons and he is another in that mould. What he adds, however, is power to the trickery and a willingness to run off the back of markers. In that sense he serves as a replacement for Marko Arnautovic.

'Sometimes if you take younger players from different countries you're never quite sure what you're going to get,' Hughes added. 'But I knew I was getting an experienced player, a player who had played in a top league and a player that I felt had the physicality and the strength and power to cope really well.

'I have to admit I didn't expect him to integrate into the group and embrace the Premier League as quickly as he has but he's a great kid with a great personality. He's always got a big smile on his face.

'You look at him and he's an imposing guy who is 6ft 3 - or probably 6ft 6 with his hair.'

Hughes seems to have looked closely at his character? He would be right to. Hughes described Choupo-Moting as 'very articulate' and he is not your conventional Premier League player. 

Married to Nevin, his best friend from school in Altona, a borough of Hamburg, he would rather be in the hustle and bustle of urban life than in gates communities with their three-year-old son, Liam. 

Romelu Lukaku continued his fine goalscoring start to the season but he couldn't earn the win

Choupo-Moting celebrates scoring his second goal of the evening with Jese Rodriguez

He is cool. Fashion and art are down as two of his passions. Choupo-Moting has a keen interest in graffiti and actually spends his afternoons painting after training. He mixes his own music too, calls himself 'Mr Choupo' on social media.

Does he play internationally? Born to a German mother and Cameroonian father, Choupo-Moting played for childhood club Hamburg before leaving for Mainz in 2011.

Cameroon were the country of choice, a decision Tunisia bizarrely took issue with, and he faced Roger Milla's ire earlier this year. Milla was incensed that so many stars, including Liverpool's Joel Matip, opted out of the Africa Nations Cup. Schalke accidentally announced his retirement from international football for good measure.

'It is a betrayal to say no to your country,' Milla said. 'You cannot blackmail your country.'

But he is now back in the fold, featuring in their recent matches before announcing himself to the Premier League with this fine double.