Stoke City should have clear transfer priority amid Jay Stansfield, Tom Cannon links: View | OneFootball

The Potters should be pushing to sign Stansfield ahead of Cannon this month

Stoke City are heading into the closing stages of the transfer window with multiple new additions needed if they are to push up the Championship table this season.

The Potters began their 2024/25 campaign with an impressive 1-0 win over Coventry City on the opening weekend of the second-tier season, and will want to build on that in the coming weeks as boss Steven Schumacher looks to add to his squad before the transfer window slams shut.

The Potters have brought in five new faces to the club so far, with goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, centre-back Ben Gibson, wing-back Eric Bocat, and striker Sam Gallagher arriving from Rotherham United, Norwich City, Sint-Truiden and Blackburn Rovers respectively, while winger Lewis Koumas has joined on loan from Liverpool.

Schumacher may have already added to his forward line with Gallagher, but he allowed Tyrese Campbell and Wesley to leave the club this summer, and it is widely believed that Stoke will aim to bring in another, more clinical forward before the window is shut.

The club were first linked with a move for Leicester City striker Tom Cannon by The Telegraph in July, but that deal looked unlikely to happen after Alan Nixon stated that the Potters had dropped out of the race for his signature at the start of August.

Despite that, StokeonTrentLive has since reported that Cannon remains a serious target for the Potters, but Fulham's Jay Stansfield is the latest striker to be linked with a move to Stoke, after Football Insider stated that they have opened talks with the Cottagers to sign him, with Birmingham's interest cooling.

If the choice is between Cannon or Stansfield, Stoke should go for the latter, as he is the more proven striker in the Championship and could be brought in permanently to build the team around him for years to come.

Stansfield is a better option than Cannon

It is no secret that Stoke are aiming to bolster their attack in the transfer market this summer, and while Gallagher could be a handy addition, Stansfield would be the ideal new signing to Schumacher's forward line to help propel the Potters up the division this season.

After a breakthrough spell with League One Exeter City in the 2022/23 season where he registered nine goals and seven assists in 36 league games, the 21-year-old moved on loan to Birmingham last summer with the aim of proving himself in the second tier at a club that many expected to kick on under John Eustace.

Blues did not do as such, and were relegated from the Championship in May after multiple managers failed to get the best out of their squad, but Stansfield was the exception to that, as he bagged 12 goals and laid on two assists in 43 league games and became widely loved by the St Andrew's faithful due to his passionate, high-energy performances throughout the campaign.

Birmingham have been widely credited with an interest in bringing him back to B9 this summer, but Stoke have now seemingly moved ahead in the race for his signature, and surely hold more pulling power due to their second-tier status.

Cannon, meanwhile, has been on the periphery of Leicester's squad since his £7.5m arrival from Everton last summer, and was limited to just 13 league appearances for the Foxes as they won the Championship last season under Enzo Maresca.

He only netted twice last campaign, but has previously impressed in the second-tier on loan at Preston North End in 2022/23, with eight goals and one assist in 20 games as he broke through into men's football for the first time.

Leicester are reportedly happy to let him leave on loan this season, with opportunities in the Premier League likely to be at a premium, but he is Steve Cooper's only fit striker at this moment in time with Patson Daka and Jamie Vardy both out injured.

With that said, it makes more sense for Stoke to go after Stansfield over Cannon this month for a number of reasons, not least that he is set to be more readily available due to currently being of lesser importance to his parent club with Rodrigo Muniz, Raul Jimenez and Carlos Vinicius ahead of him in Fulham's pecking order.

He may also be available for transfer, rather than a loan like Cannon, which is more preferable for Stoke as then they can keep him for the long-term and look to build a team around him that is capable of pushing for promotion in the next few years.

Most importantly, Stansfield has more experience in the Championship of starting games and scoring goals, and while his goal per minute ratio in the second tier is not as good as Cannon's, he was playing in a poor Birmingham team last season and could easily improve in a better Stoke side this term.

Stoke need a clinical striker

Steven Schumacher will have long been aware of the club's need to bring in a new frontman that is capable of scoring double figures each season, after a poor record of striker transfers in recent years.

Goals have been hard to come by at the bet365 Stadium since relegation to the Championship, and Jacob Brown is the only striker to have netted over 10 times in a single season for the club since 2018, and so it was no surprise to see him sold to then-top flight Luton this time last year.

The Potters were the sixth-lowest scorers in the Championship in 2023/24, and their highest-scoring centre-forwards in the league were Ryan Mmaee, who found it tough to adapt to English football, and Campbell, who has now left the club, with just three goals each - winger Andre Vidigal was the club's top scorer, with six.

Schumacher currently has five first-team strikers at his disposal with Mmaee, Gallagher, Niall Ennis, Emre Tezgel and Nathan Lowe all battling for places up front as it stands, but none are guaranteed goals in the second-tier based off their past performances.

Youngsters Tezgel and Lowe could still each be loaned out this month, while it would be no surprise to see one of Mmaee or Ennis leave after their poor records last season, which would certainly leave a gap for someone like Stansfield to plug for the new campaign.

The 21-year-old would be the perfect addition to Schumacher's attack this month, as he is an ideal age, a proven scorer at the level and would massively suit his high-energy, forward-thinking playing style, and Stoke should look to sign him over Cannon if both are available to bring in.