Poku signs: The dream Stoke City summer 2025 transfer window | OneFootball

FLW have picked out four potential deals that would make it a dream transfer window for the Potters

Stoke City's sole current focus will be on staying in the Championship, but plans will already be in place for the summer transfer window regardless of their league status for next season.

The Potters' second-tier future is hanging in the balance right now, and they need a full squad effort over the next five weeks to keep the club safe for another campaign.

Mark Robins was not very busy in the recent January window, with just two senior players signed and one let out on loan, but that is set to change in the summer as he overhauls his squad for next term in either the Championship or League One. He will be aided by new Head of Recruitment Ian Torrance, who has recently joined the club from Italian side Como.

There are certain players in Robins' squad that will want to seal a swift exit from ST4 in the summer, as well as numerous players that Stoke will want to bring in, and FLW have picked out four deals that would contribute to a dream summer transfer window for the club.

Kwame Poku signs

Stoke are a player or two short on the wings as it stands, but while they failed to reinforce in the new year, someone like Peterborough United right-winger Kwame Poku would be an ideal signing in the summer if they can beat off potentially tough competition for his signature.

Poku was one of the most in-form players in English football at the start of the season as he notched 10 goals and five assists in his first 15 matches, while he picked up the third-tier's Player of the Month award for both September and October as a result of his standout showings.

Darren Ferguson dubbed him "unplayable" in the wake of his November hat-trick against Cambridge United, and Posh were trying to tie down their star man to a new contract at that time, but he picked up a serious hamstring injury in December and has not long returned to action to help his side avoid a shock relegation to League Two.

No player in the top four tiers had a hand in more goals this season than the 23-year-old prior to his injury, and he is bound to attract more transfer attention in the summer after Posh reportedly rebuffed a bid from Luton Town for his services ahead of this campaign.

An exit from the Weston Homes Stadium feels like a foregone conclusion right now as he approaches the end of his deal, and the likes of Rangers, Burnley and Millwall could reignite their previous interest ahead of next season.

Stoke's chances of signing Poku likely hinge on which league they are in next term, but if they are in the Championship, they will feel that they can offer him a good financial package and highlight their aims to improve in the near future to try and convince him to join.

Ben Gibson leaves

Centre-back Ben Gibson signed a three-year deal with Stoke after leaving Norwich City upon the expiry of his contract last summer, but his move to the bet365 Stadium has definitely not gone to plan so far.

Gibson joined the Potters with the promise of being an experienced leader that would command their defence and help them move up the table in the years to come. The reality of his time at the club up to now has been nearly the polar opposite, with most of his game-time coming at the start of the campaign and recurring injuries looking to be taking its toll as he nears the end of his career.

The 32-year-old was appointed as club-captain by Steven Schumacher at the start of the season, and began relatively well with starts in all but one of Stoke's first 18 Championship outings under him and Narcis Pelach.

Stoke's season took a turn for the worse under the Spanish head-coach, however, and some blame was pointed at Gibson for his shoddy defensive efforts and knack of turning the ball into his own net. He did atone for those bad moments with three goals at the right end, but many Potters fans look to have already made their minds up on his abilities.

He has barely played under Mark Robins since the turn of the year, amid form and injury issues, and it is unclear whether he will be back fit to play any part in their survival efforts in the coming weeks.

Stoke are likely to want him to leave the club in the summer, but whether they find any realistic suitors for his services remains to be seen, as he is claimed to be one of their highest earners and has two years left to run on his contract.

Ali Al-Hamadi signs permanently

Stoke would no doubt like to sign Ipswich Town loanee Ali Al-Hamadi on a permanent deal, after his strong start to life in the Potteries since his January move from Portman Road, but a possible move hinges on numerous factors ahead of this summer.

Al-Hamadi joined the Potters on loan from the Premier League strugglers late in the winter window, with the aim of rediscovering his scoring touch at the bet365 Stadium after a tough half-season spell in the top-flight amid limited chances to make an impact in Kieran McKenna's side.

He bagged on his Stoke debut in a vital win over fellow bottom-half side Hull City, and despite only finding the net once more since, he has impressed in red and white as Mark Robins' men aim to pull away from the Championship relegation zone.

The 23-year-old is currently in the treatment room after pulling out of international duty with Iraq, but he is a shoo-in for Robins' starting eleven when he is available, and the Potters need him back fit soon as they try to avoid relegation.

His parent club Ipswich have not enjoyed the dream return to the Premier League that they would have wanted so far, and their survival looks more unlikely as every week passes.

The departure of ex-Stoke loanee Liam Delap, who joined the club in a £20 million move from Manchester City last summer, already feels like a foregone conclusion with two months of the campaign still yet to play and a whole host of top-flight clubs being linked to his services.

The Tractor Boys will surely have to do without him if they are back in the Championship next season, and they will no doubt be keeping tabs on how Al-Hamadi is faring out on loan at Stoke, as a result. McKenna could have him in mind for a starring role in his squad if he can keep impressing at the bet365 Stadium.

Al-Hamadi seems happy at Stoke, but a permanent deal could be tough for the club to make in the summer. It would be nigh-on impossible to do if they were to be relegated to League One this season too, with the 23-year-old unlikely to want to return to the third-tier after playing above that level for the last 18 months.

Andre Vidigal leaves

Andre Vidigal's 2023 arrival from Maritimo garnered substantial fanfare from Potters supporters due to his pedigree and difference to many of their previous signings, but after an electric start, he has since failed to deliver and now finds himself as an outcast on the periphery of Robins' squad.

Vidigal seemed to be worth every penny of the reported £450,000 that the Potters spent on bringing him to the club in his first few outings, as he netted a brace on his debut to seal a 4-1 victory over Rotherham United, before going on to find the net three more times in his next five games in all competitions with match-winning strikes against West Brom and Watford.

The 26-year-old will be wondering where it all went wrong for him in ST4, after he impressed upon his arrival, but fell further out of favour as his debut season at the club went on, and only managed to make the starting eleven once in the final 15 league games under Steven Schumacher as other players impressed in their eventually successful bid for survival.

Stoke-on-Trent Live reported in September that he was understood to have turned down chances to leave the Potters late in the window to fight for his place, with lucrative offers thought to have been on the table from Turkey and Qatar, which he may now regret given how his last few months have played out.

He has featured fleetingly so far this season, with no starts in the Championship and no goals or assists to his name as yet. It again seems unlikely that he will play for the club again in 2024/25, given that he has continually not been called upon in the last few months despite being fit, with the club struggling to score goals in a relegation battle.

Vidigal is clearly a talented player, but his first month at Stoke was a flash in the pan, and he has consistently shown that he is not quite at a Championship standard week-in, week-out. His exit seems pretty inevitable this summer, but the Potters may have to settle for a loan departure to take him to the end of his deal next year.