Leicester City threat fading into insignificance amid new Stoke City crisis | OneFootball

Sam Gallagher's injury concerns mean Stoke need a new striker in January regardless of Tom Cannon's Leicester recall clause

Stoke City's striker woes have been well-documented over the years, and more forward trouble has reared its head this season, meaning the Potters should already be looking ahead to the January window for potential reinforcements.

Stoke looked to have significantly bolstered their attacking prospects in the summer, as Sam Gallagher joined from Blackburn Rovers in late July for a fee that could reportedly rise to £1.6 million, and then they beat off some very strong competition to secure Leicester City frontman Tom Cannon on loan in the last week of the window.

Both players looked to be on the right track under new head-coach Narcis Pelach after slow starts in the Potteries, yet new developments surrounding the pair could potentially scupper Stoke's season if either come to life.

Cannon has not hit the net consistently so far, yet has shown great signs of his ability in short bursts, but has a recall clause in his loan deal that the Foxes could potentially trigger in January to sell him on for a sizeable fee and leave the Potters short-changed.

Gallagher, meanwhile, was signed by the club in the knowledge that he has suffered badly with injury issues in recent years, and those niggles have continued so far this season, so his fitness can clearly not be relied on as he now possibly faces a long time on the sidelines.

It is absolutely imperative that Stoke sign a new, Championship-proven striker in the new year, as a result of the 29-year-old's injury problems, and regardless of whether Cannon is, or is not, a Potters' player at the end of the January window.

Sam Gallagher's injury history is a worry for Stoke

Gallagher's injury troubles have been a detriment to his career over the years, and he first spent an extended period on the sidelines while he was with boyhood club Southampton, as a serious knee problem kept him out for over six months from August 2014 to February 2015, and he missed a full season of Premier League action after he had broken into their senior side the year previous.

He suffered consistent, short-term injuries while out on loan at Blackburn and Birmingham City in 2017 and 2018, and then played just eight times in all competitions for the Saints in the 2018/19 season as a number of issues with his hamstring saw him face a lengthy spell out of the squad.

More time on the sidelines on his return to Rovers saw him miss a whole pre-season ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, and he missed 22 games over the next two seasons due to a host of small niggles that saw him miss a few games at a time on numerous occasions, before a serious calf injury saw him ruled out for three months from November 2023 to this January.

Gallagher would obviously love to be fit and firing a lot more than he usually is, but Rovers fans understandably grew tired of his constant unavailability, and Stoke are now the latest team to feel the disadvantage of having him sidelined for an extended period.

The 29-year-old had played just 28 minutes of his first pre-season friendly for the Potters against AZ Alkmaar in August before he was forced off with another calf injury, and he had to wait until September 28 to make his first competitive appearance for Stoke at Middlesbrough.

He was impressive in the 6-1 thrashing of Portsmouth with a well-taken goal and an assist as a second striker alongside Cannon in his first start for the club in the next game, but limped off against Swansea City at the start of this month and now could be out for a while.

Gallagher has already missed the visits of Norwich and Bristol City so far, and Pelach admitted on Monday that it will be "at least one week more" until the full extent of his injury issues are revealed, which seems ominous and could well mean another extended period without him available, given his record in years gone by.

Stoke need a new striker in the January window

Gallagher's problems raise a pertinent issue that the Potters must address in the new year, that a new striker needs to be signed if they want to push in the right direction under Pelach.

The Spainard will have to be backed in his first transfer window as head-coach, and while Cannon's recall clause could pose a serious problem if it were to be activated, another attacking addition is clearly needed regardless.

As highly-rated as Emre Tezgel is, he is not yet the answer to Stoke's immediate goalscoring issues at 19-years-old, while fellow frontman Niall Ennis has been well out-of-favour this season and was seemingly on his way out in the summer, before the Potters instead opted to send Ryan Mmaee out on loan to Rapid Vienna, and kept the former Plymouth man as a forward option.

Mmaee has been similarly out injured this season and is yet to even feature for the Austrian Bundesliga side so far, nearly two months into his loan spell, so a recall of him back to Stoke in January certainly seems unlikely, but cannot be ruled out.

Nathan Lowe is another striker that is on Stoke's books but is currently out on loan, and he is loving life in League Two at high-flying Walsall, with eight goals in 14 games in all competitions, but it would make little sense to cut his time in the West Midlands short just to play a role off the bench at the bet365 Stadium.

As a result, the Potters clearly need to be busy preparing to approach some key targets after the turn of the year, and in the meanwhile must make do with what they have got and hope that it is enough to see them through the next two months.