Stoke City ‘Looking Around For Bargains’ As Star Checked | OneFootball

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Stoke City are ‘looking around for bargains’, which has led them to checking in on a striker at Grimsby Town, according to journalist Alan Nixon.

The Potters enjoyed a bright start to the season which raised some hopes of a promotion challenge in the Championship.

Performances dropped off though and as early as December one former Championship star concluded a promotion challenge for the Potters was not realistic.

Stoke ended up finishing the campaign in a lowly 17th and will now have to look to reinforce the squad over the summer to go again.

How much cash there is for the Potters to splash is unclear, but they are ‘looking around for bargains’.

The search has seen Stoke check up on Grimsby striker Jaze Kabia, who they watched closely in the playoffs.

Grimsby snapped up Kabia from non-league outfit Truro City last summer and he penned a two-year deal with David Artell’s men.

The 25-year-old ended the campaign with 23 goals in 57 games across all competitions to his name, with 17 of those strikes coming in League Two’s regular season.

Now Kabia could be set for another step up the levels, however Stoke are not the only club showing interest in the Irishman.

Stoke were lauded for doing smart business in the transfer window last summer and their recruitment team will need to work even harder this year.

It is unclear how much Stoke might have to spend to bring Kabia to the Potteries, but the hitman would be likely to jump at the chance to link up with the Potters this summer.

Stoke ended the season on the back of four consecutive losses, going down against Wrexham, Millwall, Portsmouth and then on the final day, Bristol City.

Mark Robins will be keen to shrug off that poor finish and make sure Stoke hit the ground running in the new campaign.

A reduced transfer budget though could bring reduced expectations, unless the Potters can take inspiration from the likes of Hull City and Millwall.