Stoke City are in with a shout of returning to the Premier League and the transfer window offers them a vital chance to reinforce Mark Robins' squad
Brian Dick Reach Football Correspondent
07:00, 07 Jan 2026
Louie Barry could be on the move again this month
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Louie Barry could be on the move again this month(Image: Zach Forster/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Stoke City have made a good start to the season and given themselves hope of a first promotion challenge since relegation in 2018.
Sunday’s 2-0 win at Norwich City, their second of 2026 has catapulted them back up to eighth and while they are a couple of victories off the automatic promotion places, they are well in the mix for the play-offs.
All of which means the coming weeks will be key as Jon Walters and Mark Robins try to make the right moves in the transfer window to enable the Potters to go on and not only maintain but step up their challenge.
Clearly there isn’t the scope to throw millions at permanent transfers and Stoke made decent use of the loan window last summer. However, like every Championship club some work, others don’t.
Ashley Phillips has been a success, the jury is still out on Divin Mubama but Jamie Donley has already gone back to Tottenham and been reallocated to Oxford United.
Indeed clubs up and down the division are doing likewise, looking to offload the loans that haven’t worked, while parent clubs are also looking to recall and reallocate just as Spurs did with Donley.
Here’s some Premier League loan players who could be on the move and cross Stoke’s radar in the coming weeks.
Lewis Koumas (winger, Birmingham City on loan from Liverpool)
Having had one Championship spell with Stoke last season, Liverpool sent Koumas to Birmingham hoping he’d kick on and establish himself as a regular starter. It hasn’t happened.
Indeed the 20-year-old, son of former Wales play-maker Jason, has started just five league games and went half a season before breaking his duck, with a neat finish in the 3-2 win over Coventry.
He’s benefitting from Demarai Gray’s injury but will surely go back to a bit-part role once the Jamaica international returns – there’s even been talk he could be recalled by Liverpool.
Toby Collyer (midfielder, was West Brom on loan from Manchester United)
The 22-year-old has already been recalled by United with injury curtailing his prospects at The Hawthorns. He made 12 appearances but only three starts and his last one was ended by injury in November.
With all the turmoil around United at the moment the midfielder could be kept around the squad, or once he is fit towards the end of January, sent back on loan to try again in the Championship.
Speaking about the youngster 12 months ago Bruno Fernandes said: ‘He’s a really good kid who wants to learn. He’s eager to learn, he’s eager to listen. He has big, big qualities – he’s aggressive off the ball, he’s aggressive running with the ball, he’s class in tight spaces.”
Eiran Cashin (centre back, Birmingham City, on loan from Brighton)
The former Derby County defender had a nightmare start to his Blues career with a series of errors that led to defeats. That saw him spend months on the sidelines and only as injuries and suspension have bit deep has he come back into the picture.
However, only three Championship starts in not the return on investment either Blues or Brighton were looking for and he is expected to go back, albeit briefly, to The Amex. He has already been linked with Blackburn Rovers.
Has played centre back this season, even a little left back but looks far more comfortable on the left of a three.
Tyler Bindon (centre back, Sheffield United on loan from Nottingham Forest)
Bindon joined Forest from Reading a year ago, stayed with the Royals until the end of last season and was loaned to the Blades for his first taste of Championship action in July.
The New Zealand international has made nine starts in what has been a disrupted first half of the campaign for the Bramall Lane outfit – and he was struggling for game-time.
However, injuries to Mark McGuinness and Ben Mee opened the door and the 20-year-old has started the last four matches and what seemed like a clear case of loan termination now looks a bit more nuanced.
Chris Wilder said ‘everything’s on the table’ when asked about Bindon’s future before Christmas – and it emerged yesterday that while Forest do have a recall deadline, United want to retain him.
Louie Barry (winger, was Sheffield United, on loan from Aston Villa)
The exciting 22-year-old built on a brilliant season on loan with Stockport County in League One with a stellar pre-season campaign for the Blades.
However, opportunities dried up and an injury means he has not played since October, with Wilder confirming his return to Villa.
He is unlikely to break into Unai Emery’s Champions League qualifying chasers and once he has returned to fitness could either be sent back out on loan or sold permanently.
Stoke have already been linked. At his best he is a direct and potent left-sided attacker but one who must prove himself at Championship level. He spent time in the Barcelona academy after leaving West Brom.
Harry Amass (left wing back, Sheffield Wednesday on loan from Manchester United)
Amass is having a superb season with the embattled Owls, starting 21 times after joining on deadline day from Man United. Recent reports have suggested United weren’t intending to recall the 18-year-old – but Ruben Amorim's departure might have changed that. Indeed talk in the last 24 hours has suggested he will leave Hillsborough.
The same reports even claimed he was considering an option to join Stoke as they look to reinforce their full back options limited by injuries.
Losing the England Under-19 would be a hammer blow to the Owls but Henrik Pedersen has not given up hope, saying at the weekend: “We don't have any conclusion yet, but I believe that we can find a solution for him, and there is a good dialogue between the clubs.”
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