Three areas that Stoke City need to strengthen in January

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Defensive Midfield

Whilst Stoke may have an abundance of attack minded midfield players at their disposal, including Bojan Krkic, Xherdan Shaqiri, Ibrahim Afellay, Charlie Adam, Giannelli Imbula and Marko Arnautovic, their only natural defensive midfielder is 32-year-old Glenn Whelan. Whilst the Irish international undoubtedly provides an invaluable defensive foil in front of the defensive line, his age and a lack of competition certainly stand out as potential issues. If Whelan were to suffer an injury whilst on international duty, for example, The Potters would have no ready-made replacement. The most obvious option would be Joe Allen, although the Welshman is performing so well in a more advanced midfield role that it would be counter-productive to play him in a defensive position.

Axel Witsel could well provide Mark Hughes with the perfect solution. The Potters were amongst a host of clubs chasing the Belgian’s signature during the summer and they are likely to resume their interest, after he opted to remain at Zenit St Petersburg, with rumours suggesting that the midfielder will be available in January. Witsel would be a younger, more technically proficient upgrade on Whelan and would undoubtedly improve the current Stoke City squad.