Stoke City manager Steven Schumacher has admitted his team needs reinforcements in the forward areas this month before the January window slams shut.
Schumacher was speaking to the media after Stoke’s 4-2 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup yesterday and admitted it was an area the team needed to look towards regarding recruitment within this transfer window.
The Potters have been misfiring in front of goal this season, scoring just 25 goals in 26 games so far in the campaign. It’s a record that Schumacher would like to change and will look towards the players available on the market to do so.
Andre Vidigal is currently the top goalscorer in the Championship for Stoke with just five goals so far. They have scored more than one goal in just two of their last nine, and have won only one of their last 13 games. It’s a poor run of form that has to change if they are to climb up the table.
Speaking to the Stoke Sentinel yesterday following the side’s exit from the FA Cup, Schumacher had this to say regarding the potential business his side could do in January:
“It’s no secret that we probably need another couple of attacking players. I think defensively as a squad throughout the first half of the season we’ve been pretty solid. In the first four games that we’ve been here we’ve sensed that the defenders have done well, we’ve looked organised but we’ve missed that cutting edge at the top end of the pitch.”
“It’s not easy and cost a lot of money as well, especially at this level. We have to make sure we do our due diligence and get the right people in, not just bring people in for the sake of it.”
An addition to the number of goalscorers in the team may help Stoke push towards a top-half finish in the second half of the season.
Writers View
Stoke City’s struggles in front of goals this season can’t continue, and a new striker is needed this month to address that. With just 25 goals, they are the fourth-lowest scorers in the entire Championship. The only teams that have scored less are the three teams at the bottom of the table.
Failure to address the issues could see Steven Schumacher’s side fall further down the Championship and risk being pulled into a relegation battle they will want to avoid.
