Stoke City must now go all-out for Leeds United transfer ASAP after cruel Divin Mubama blow | OneFootball

Stoke City are now without a fit centre-forward after Divin Mubama's horror injury against Queens Park Rangers

Divin Mubama suffered a horrific leg-break in Stoke City's 0-0 home draw to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, leaving the Potters without any available strikers contracted to the club.

Following their goalless draw at home to QPR, where chances were few and far between, Stoke have moved up to 7th in the Championship table and remain in touching distance of the top six.

This campaign has been far and away their best season since returning to the Championship in 2018, with the club having gotten used to lingering around the bottom half of the table.

Now, led by former Coventry City boss Mark Robins, the Potters have kept three clean sheets in a row in the league and four in all competitions, sustaining the best defensive record in the division.

However, their job has been made much more difficult lately, with injuries across the pitch disrupting their flow and, as a result, hindering their performances and results.

Goalkeeper Viktor Johansson is expected to be out for much of the rest of the season, leading to the arrival of Gavin Bazunu on loan from Southampton, whilst the likes of Aaron Cresswell, Eric Bocat, Junior Tchamadeu, Ben Gibson, Lewis Baker, Steven Nzonzi, Robert Bozenik, Sam Gallagher, and now Mubama are all spending time in the treatment room.

It's rotten luck for Stoke, though fortunately for them, we are in the midst of a transfer window, which they will certainly have to utilise if they are to remain in contention for the play-offs come the end of the season.

Divin Mubama suffered a broken leg against Queens Park Rangers, leaving Stoke City without an available striker

In what was, at best, an incredibly scrappy game, QPR stood firm and laboured the home side to a goalless draw, though the result wasn't the talking point of the match.

Early on in the second half, Jimmy Dunne's reckless challenge on Mubama saw the Manchester City loanee sustain a broken leg, which has more than likely put a premature end to his campaign.

Understandably, Stoke boss Robins was fuming after the game, especially after the challenge was only deemed a yellow card, after the referee, who had a dreadful game, waved away a clear handball in the penalty area from R's defender Amadou Mbengue late in the first half.

With Mubama's injury, winger Lamine Cisse was forced to deputise up front, with both Bozenik and Gallagher both expected to be out for a matter of months.

Even more frustrating for Robins, he is without the option of recalling and reintroducing either Nathan Lowe or Emre Tezgel from their loan, with the pair having both already been recalled from Stockport County and Crewe Alexandra, respectively, after they, too, are spending a prolonged period out with injury.

This means all five senior strikers contracted to the club are missing the foreseeable future due to injury, leaving Robins in an incredibly difficult position, with a centre-forward now likely to be at the very top of his shopping list this month.

Indeed, with no fit and available striker in the current ranks at Stoke, reinforcements in that position have to be the utmost priority for Robins' side.

Leeds United's Joel Piroe, as well as Stoke, has been linked with numerous clubs in the upper echelons of the Championship table.

Piroe, who recently changed his national allegiance to Suriname, finished as the Championship top scorer last campaign with 19 goals, although six of those happened to be against Stoke.

As per TEAMtalk, Piroe has also been credited with a move to second-tier rivals Middlesbrough, though his estimated £40k-per-week wage, as per Capology, may prove to be a stumbling block in any move to this January.

However, with Mubama's Stoke career likely at an end, his loan may well be cancelled, freeing up wages and a loan spot to boot.

Whether Piroe is a realistic target for the Potters remains to be seen, but they must do everything they can to bring another striker, or two, to Staffordshire this winter, otherwise their play-off chances may fade.