The big problem in Stoke City’s search for a main striker this summer is that John Coates won’t be able to sign the kind of cheque that would be the best guarantee of success.
Money hasn’t been the answer to Stoke’s long search for a front man who can score goals regularly – after all there have been coming up to 100 forwards who have played for the club since Peter Thorne was the last to score 20 times in a season – but it would be useful for Jon Walters, Lee Darnbrough and Steven Schumacher.
If you look at the players who have scored 20+ goals in the Championship over the last five years, only one has come in for a fee under £1m – Teemu Pukki, who was signed on a Bosman deal by Norwich in the summer of 2018 – although the main thing this list suggests is the wisest thing will be to see who Blackburn or Peterborough are chasing and step in.
Championship 20+ scorers in last five years: Sammie Szmodics (reported £2.5m from Peterborough to Blackburn), Adam Armstrong (£15m from Blackburn to Southampton), Chuba Akpom (£2.75m from PAOK to Middlesbrough), Viktor Gyökeres (£1m from Brighton to Coventry), Carlton Morris (£1.3m from Barnsley to Luton), Aleksandar Mitrovic (£22m rising to £27m from Newcastle to Fulham), Dominic Solanke (£19m from Liverpool to Bournemouth), Andreas Weimann (£2.5m from Derby to Bristol City), Joel Piroe (£1m rising to £2m from PSV to Swansea), Ben Brereton-Diaz (£7m from Nottingham Forest to Blackburn), Ivan Toney (£5m rising to £10m from Peterborough to Brentford), Adam Armstrong (£1.75m from Newcastle to Blackburn), Teemu Pukki (free transfer from Brondby to Norwich), Kieffer Moore (£2m from Wigan to Cardiff), Ollie Watkins (£1.8m from Exeter to Brentford), Lewis Grabban (£6m from Bournemouth to Nottingham Forest).
Stoke do not have both hands tied behind their back in the market due to Financial Fair Play like they did two years ago, but it is clear they have to be focused. To put it bluntly, it might be nice to spend £6m on a centre-back but they will have to prioritise.
