Leicester City are being persistently linked with a January move for Brighton striker Evan Ferguson as Ruud van Nistelrooy assesses what he needs to add to his recently-inherited squad.
This is of interest to Stoke City, of course, because one of Van Nistelrooy's forwards is Tom Cannon, on a season-long loan at the bet365 Stadium. There is an option, like in most loans, to recall Cannon in January but unless a suddenly prolific run of form forces Van Nistelrooy to think he could immediately be a Premier League game changer, the signs point to him staying at the bet365.
Leicester had £10 million offers for the 21-year-old in the summer, with strong interest from Luton Town, but Cannon wanted to join Stoke on loan. He wanted regular game time and he's got that, scoring eight times so far in 16 league and cup appearances, nominated for November's Championship player of the month, winning a recall to the Republic of Ireland squad, and he seems happy under head coach Narcis Pelach. This week he has been talking to supporters in a live recording of the official Potters Pod along with Ben Wilmot in Ricardo's Bar.
Pelach has already asked his bosses about trying to sign him - and his other three loanees, Andrew Moran, Lewis Koumas and Ashley Phillips - for next season too.
Van Nistelrooy appears to be a big fan of fit-again Patson Daka, who scored in a 3-1 win over West Ham on Tuesday, and Daka and Jamie Vardy are covering one position at the moment, with summer signing Odsonne Edouard not even getting on the bench. There doesn't seem to be any Cannon-shaped hole to fill.
For what it's worth, any Ferguson deal looks unlikely even if it's being pushed by The Sun. LeicestershireLive point out that Leicester can’t loan him without first sending Facundo Buonanotte back which "would be a bizarre decision given his impact so far this term".
They add: "A permanent deal would be the only possible approach, but at the price he will cost – expected to be more than City’s £40m record buy – that does not seem viable."
Still, Leicester were keen to spend about £20m on a striker in the summer, with moves for Panathinaikos and Greece forward Fotis Ioannidis, and the noises coming out of the East Midlands suggest that's still in their thinking.
Cannon is expected to lead Stoke's attack at Sunderland tomorrow (12.30pm) and, if he carries on at his current rate of scoring, he will soon be only the fourth Stoke player in eight years to get into double figures. Stoke just haven't been able to find a regular scorer, on loan or otherwise, in recent years, and that kind of return running up to Christmas is not to be sniffed at.
Four 'new signings' to boost Stoke without heading to market
Narcis Pelach has been gradually working his way towards a settled starting XI during his first two-and-a-half months as Stoke City head coach.
A core of players who he trusts as regular starters is starting to emerge and there is no doubt he will try expand and improve that group as one, two or three are introduced in the January transfer window.
But there is still a little group of senior players already at Clayton Wood who can still gatecrash his first team plans. and have a big influence on the second-half of the season.
We have run through their cases here, from Bosun Lawal to Ben Pearson.
The Viking prepares for Sunderland trip
Sunderland are fourth in the Championship, having gone 10 unbeaten – drawing the last five in a row – before last week’s narrow 1-0 defeat on the road to title-chasing Sheffield United.
The table has been pretty squeezed up to this stage of the season, with a lot more draws than in recent years, but it is expected to break up a little bit over a hectic month of action and Stoke want to make sure they keep fighting to pull upwards.
Viktor Johansson said: “You always say after Christmas, that busy period, you know the stronger teams but this year seems really tight and there are only a few points from top to bottom. It’s a very interesting league.
“Sunderland will be tough. Every game is a tough game in this division this season. They have started really well but we’re really looking forward to the challenge and we’re itching to come back and try again.
“When you don’t have a Tuesday game it feels like ages. None of us can wait to get out there on Saturday.”
We spoke to Johansson about life under Narcis Pelach at Stoke. You can read that interview in full here.
'We all suffered Stoke'
It seems like a thin line between compliment and insult but at least we can now be sure that Tony Pulis's Stoke are still the barometer for set piece experts in the Premier League.
We have been running through the reaction to Arsenal trying to take their crown, along with some hilariously furious backtracking from their supporters - and ironically at the same time as Stoke are putting more and more emphasis on this part of the game again too.
"We all suffered Stoke," said Roberto Martinez at the Emirates on Wednesday night. "I think it is a great credit to remember Tony Pulis."
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