Four deals Stoke City are trying to complete before transfer deadline
Transfer news and gossip from the bet365 Stadium in the final day of an unprecedented summer window
Stoke City are in the final stages of what has been a club-changing transfer window – and still hope to get more deals over the line.
Bae Junho has become the 15th signing of the summer as Alex Neil has completely reshaped his changing room – although one of those new boys, Chiquinho, is expected to end a season-long loan from Wolves and instead move to Famalicao in Portugal, having fallen out of the first team picture as Stoke’s summer has progressed.
Neil has been clear that he wants two players competing for every position and that suggests there is scope for at least four more before 11pm this evening: right-back, centre-half and in the forward department, plus a Chiquinho replacement on the wing.-It remains to be seen if Swansea will try to force the issue with Josh Tymon too, which would mean Stoke need a left-back.
The versatility of some of the players who have joined in the last couple of months has lessened the urgency to an extent. Mehdi Leris could play at right-back, for example, if Ki-Jana Hoever was not available – and he did so impressively in the second half at Millwall last weekend – but Stoke are still hoping they can emerge into an ideal world.
Links earlier in the summer with Colchester United’s Junior Tchamadeu have gone quiet while United States international Reggie Cannon has been whispered in the last few days – but it’s Sunderland’s Lynden Gooch who seems to have got to the front of the queue.
A left-sided centre-half would balance right footers Ben Wilmot, Michael Rose and Luke McNally. Emin Bayram, from Galatasaray, was an early summer story while Ben Davies, on the fringes at Rangers and a Neil stalwart at Preston North End, and Axel Tuanzebe, a free agent after a loan spell at Stoke last season, have been tentatively murmured.
Kal Naismith, from Bristol City, could be an interesting last minute option, although the 31-year-old left footer was yesterday still doing previews for this weekend’s game against Swansea. He could cover at left-back too.
Up front, Stoke have had bids knocked back for West Brom’s bustling Brandon Thomas-Asante and it remains to be seen if they make another phone call.
Sunderland talisman Ross Stewart has long been linked but is wanted by Southampton for big money while he recovers from serious injury. Tom Cannon and Milutin Osmajic are among other names mentioned.
Last night it was claimed that Stoke could rival PAOK for Sead Haksabanovic, the Celtic winger and Montenegro international, on a long-term loan deal, which would not use up one of the wild card spots.
It has been an exciting time for Neil and his recruitment staff but it will also be a relief when it’s done and dusted.
He said: “I pretty much know what’s going on but it is unsettling and I’m not going to lie about that. When you bring as many players as we’ve brought in, everybody then starts to jostle for position, people then question whether they are number one in their position. Competition naturally does that, doesn’t it?
“We have spoken at length over the window about people naturally seeing other people off. That’s just the nature of the game.
“But we want to make sure we come out of this window with two players per position that can fight it out for their place in the team and that leaves us very competitive as a squad but also with enough variety and quality that we can go and compete in this league and then make sure we try and get yourself up the top end.”
Leave a Reply