Tom Cannon returns: How Stoke City's dream January transfer window looks | OneFootball

Stoke City's busy summer window means the Potters won't have too much business to conduct this January, but one or two bits could still yet be done

Stoke City have endured a brilliant start to the 2025/26 EFL Championship campaign, and with the January transfer window right around the corner, manager Mark Robins may have his eye on a couple of bits of business he may want to conduct.

Having narrowly avoided relegation last campaign thanks to a goalless draw away to Derby County on the final day, expectations of Stoke were not set high this season.

Following the Potters' relegation from the Premier League in 2018, the club has failed to record a finish higher than 14th in the league table in the past seven seasons, so understandably not much was expected from the Staffordshire outfit.

But after 15 games into the season, Stoke find themselves in the promotion mix, and despite losing to Robins' old side Coventry City 1-0 prior to the most recent international break, there's still plenty of confidence that a top six finish at least will be reached, rather than the usual mid-table collapse.

Stoke have massively underwhelmed and underperformed since arriving back in the Championship. Backed by the Coates family, who own bet365, their financial backing has never been in doubt; it has just been how they have chosen to spend that money that has been their downfall.

The signings of players entering the latter stages of their careers over the years, such as Sam Vokes, James McClean, and Sam Clucas, who had little to no resale value upon their arrivals, have not helped their case, but more recently, they have seemed to learn from their mistakes.

Over the past few seasons, Stoke have identified young talent such as Junior Tchamadeu, Bae Jun-Ho, Tomas Rigo, Bosun Lawal, and Lamine Cisse, to name a few, who they will be hoping to develop and flip for a profit in the future, but first and foremost, help them become a more competitive side, which they are succeeding at.

As the January window approaches, the Potters won't have too much business to conduct, with holding on to their best talent being the most imperative thing they can do. Though this doesn't necessarily mean Robins won't explore avenues to improve his side as they fight for promotion, with one signing in particular wanted by the majority of Stoke fans.

The signing of Sheffield United's Tom Cannon this January would be a major boost for Stoke City

As per Football League World's Stoke fan pundit, Pete O'Connell, the one player that the bulk of Potters fans would want to see back at the club this January is Sheffield United forward Tom Cannon.

Cannon spent the first half of the 2024/25 season on loan in Staffordshire from Leicester City, scoring nine goals and grabbing one assist in 22 Championship matches for the club, but would be recalled by the Foxes in January and sold to the Blades for £10 million.

The twice-capped Irish international finished last campaign as the Potters' top goalscorer, despite spending just half the season there, and his four-goal haul at home to Portsmouth has left a lasting impression on fans of the club, who would be welcomed back with open arms.

Since his switch to South Yorkshire, however, things haven't gone nearly as well as he or Sheffield United would have hoped, and on the way to the play-off final last season, Cannon scored just the once as he made minimal impact at Bramall Lane.

And with managerial turmoil in the first third of the 2025-26 campaign, which saw Ruben Selles hired, fired and replaced by former boss Chris Wilder, Cannon's impact has also been measly, and with the recent arrival of Patrick Bamford on a free transfer, it's likely to push the ex-Everton man further down the pecking order.

A loan spell in January may be the best outcome for all involved, as Stoke will be getting a player who has proved he can score goals for them in a much poorer side, Sheffield United will be getting his wages off the books without selling him, and Cannon will be able to find form once again, offering competition to Divin Mubama, Robert Bozenik, and Sam Gallagher up top.

Bozenik has yet to fire for Stoke since his summer move from Boavista, whilst Gallagher's injury troubles have reared their ugly head once more - it is Manchester City loanee Mubama that has emerged as Robins' preferred option up top.

Cannon would offer an alternative up top for Robins, and is also capable of playing out wide should he be required. If he were to sign, he could be the catalyst for Stoke's promotion charge this campaign.

In terms of outgoings, Stoke must simply find a way to offload Portuguese winger Andre Vidigal and veteran centre-back Ben Gibson, and should Cannon join, then Gallagher should be ushered towards the exit door, too.

Vidigal appeared to be a steal of a signing when Stoke plucked him from Maritimo in the summer of 2023 for just £450k, scoring twice on his debut for the club against Rotherham United. But since then, it has all been downhill.

The winger has made 43 appearances for the Potters in total across all competitions, scoring seven times without assisting once, often flattering to deceive, but has not made a senior appearance in nine months and not a league one in nearly a year.

Vidigal, 27, has not featured in a matchday squad since gameweek 31 last season, playing no part in helping the Potters to retain their Championship status, nor towards their efforts of promotion this season, and he must simply be removed from the club's wage bill one way or another this January.

Gibson, although he is the club captain, has also failed to register an appearance this season, but unlike Vidigal, he has made a matchday squad.

According to Capology, the 32-year-old is on a staggering £35,000-per-week with the Potters, which is set to run until the summer of 2027, having signed a three-year deal on a free transfer last summer, and is, unsurprisingly, the club's top earner.

Ben Wilmot, Bosun Lawal, Ashley Phillips, and Maksym Talovierov are all ahead of Gibson in the pecking order, and unless Stoke were ravaged by injuries in defence, it is hard to see him making a league appearance this season.

Captain or not, £35,000-per-week for a fifth-choice centre-back is bad business, whichever way you look at it, and Stoke must do everything they can to offload his wages as soon as possible.

Gallagher's fitness concerns, with Robins favouring a one-striker system, and the fact that both Mubama and Bozenik are ahead of him in the pecking order, mean that it makes little sense to want to keep Gallagher at the club beyond January.

The Englishman is a proven Championship goalscorer, having netted over 50 goals in over 280 second-tier games across his career, but 30 years old and with obvious signs of regression, Robins must cut ties with him as soon as possible, and should Cannon come in, he will stand little chance of a place in the side thereafter.