Stoke Round-Up: Return to former West Brom target; Money no issue for Hughes

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Stoke City look to return to former targets in this window, but that does not mean they’re stuck in a rut. The first of the targets, according to The Sentinel, is strong Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel, with Stoke rumoured to have placed a bid in the region of £11 million.

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Stoke have an abundance of ageing midfielders in the form of Glenn Whelan, Stephen Ireland and so forth, and while Axel Witsel is no spring chicken, he could provide a more youthful approach to the centre of midfield for the side. The Potters are yet to properly replace the loss of Steven N’Zonzi, who previously left the club to join Sevilla – the recently crowned Europa League champions for the third year running.

This is not the first time that Stoke have been interested in the Zenit Saint Petersburg midfielder, but now seems more likely than ever for the 27-year-old to choose a move to the Premier League.

The Staffordshire based club face stiff competition in the form of Roma for the player’s signature, and the pull of European football may be a factor in his decision. The thought of Imbula and Witsel holding the midfield would certainly strike fear into the hearts of many a Premier League player. Witsel is known for his crunching tackles and off the ball presence on the field, and this could be something that Stoke need in their push for European football in the future.

Witsel is a big name player that would almost certainly relish a move to the Premier League, however with interest from clubs based in European football it’s highly unlikely that if interest continues around the Belgian that he will choose the wet and windy terraces of the Bet365 stadium.

Another former target of Stoke City’s that they’re keen to approach once more is West Bromwich Albion forward Saido Berahino. Berahino has been trying to move away from The Hawthorns for some time as he seems insistent on severing ties with the Midlands club and it’s chairman Jeremy Peace.

The Potters are thought to be monitoring the situation of Berahino after reports from The Sentinel exploring Crystal Palace offering £7 million for the striker. This comes after Stoke’s bid of near to £25 million for the young English striker in January.

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With Peter Crouch not getting any younger and forwards Diouf, Bojan – who recently signed a new contract with the club – and Joselu scoring a combined 16 goals between them last season, Mark Hughes needs to get an emphatic finisher in his side, especially if their top scorer Marko Arnautovic is holding off contract talks. The aforementioned forwards only scored five goals more than Arnautovic last season, which begs the question of whether some players are to be off-loaded in this transfer window.

Berahino would fit in with the energetic forwards Stoke already have, but with potential interest from Tottenham and other bigger clubs, it’s unlikely that he will move to Stoke if he wants to progress further and stake a regular claim for an England shirt. It is always possible that Berahino will move to The Potteries, but it seems more possible that his head will overrule his heart and go for money and potential glory.

According to The Daily Mail, Stoke are prepared to break their transfer record for the third consecutive window.

After breaking their transfer record in the summer for £12 million winger Xherdan Shaqiri, the Potters once again exceeded this value in January with the £18.3 million that they forked out for Gianelli Imbula. Chief executive Tony Scholes has publicly admitted that it’s more than possible that they will break the record again in the coming months, with clubs receiving more money from the Premier League television deal.

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However, if Stoke want to mount a successful push towards European football, then money will need to be spent, but not just on one player. It would be wise for the club to spread their budget across a number of positions, however it’s easy to believe that they will continue the trend of completing a marquee signing this summer. This of course all depends on whether the manager and staff deem the player to be of an acceptable standard to warrant the breaking of such a record.

Written by Regan Foy