What to expect from Stoke City before January transfer deadline as Steven Schumacher targets deals
Latest Stoke City news from StokeonTrentLive as we assess the transfer state of play at the bet365 Stadium ahead of Thursday’s deadline
Stoke City are continuing to explore late opportunities in what is increasingly looking like it will be a relatively quiet end to the transfer window.
Steven Schumacher has added Daniel Iversen, Luke Cundle and rookie keeper Scott Morris to his squad and the door has not been shut on further activity before the deadline passes at 11pm on Thursday, February 1. The search for goals in particular has seen Stoke look beyond UK shores but, in a month notoriously difficult for permanent deals, there is still hope of another arrival, probably on loan unless unexpected dominoes fall.
Schumacher has also been clear that, while keen to bring in different attributes, he is not desperate for numbers. His repeated message since arriving at the bet365 Stadium before Christmas has been that the squad is better than its current standing in a congested Championship – and improvements can be made with ‘serious’ work on the training ground.
Stoke have now got five loanees, the maximum number allowed for any match day squad. They are allowed more – and had seven in the second half of last season – and could decide to negotiate the early return of a current loanee.
Stoke are significantly better placed in terms of budgets than 12 months ago – when they had to sell Joe Bursik to make sure they would avoid Financial Fair Play sanctions – but they still have to be wary of constraints.
