2 PL targets that should be on Stoke City’s radar this week ft Ipswich Town player | OneFootball

We have picked out two top-flight players that the Potters should look to bring in on loan

Stoke City are undergoing a big summer of clear-outs and wise transfer decisions as they look to finally push on in the Championship this season.

Steven Schumacher is nearing the end of his first summer window as Potters boss and has seen seven new faces arrive at the club so far, with an onus on bringing in young, low-risk, high-reward players, either permanently or on loan, to bolster his squad for 2024/25.

Stoke have already moved to bring in some promising Premier League players, with winger Lewis Koumas arriving on loan from Liverpool and attacking midfielder Andrew Moran joining for the season from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Schumacher will likely not be done utilising the loan market just yet though, and FLW have picked out two current top-flight players that the Potters should look to sign with the season now underway.

Ali Al-Hamadi

Stoke are still in need of a striker with time running out in the window to secure an addition, and seem to be lacking realistic domestic options with their loan targets looking set to either remain at their current club, or move elsewhere.

The Potters have been persistently linked with Leicester City frontman Tom Cannon this summer, but are now reportedly behind Sheffield United in the race for his signature, while fellow target Jay Stansfield is set to stay at Fulham, amid reports of interest from Stoke.

With that said, they need to focus their attention elsewhere to make sure their strikeforce is bolstered ahead of a long season, and they should be looking to sign Ipswich Town forward Ali Al-Hamadi this week.

Al Hamadi has enjoyed a stunning rise to the top in recent years, and currently plies his trade with Ipswich in the Premier League after he joined from fourth-tier AFC Wimbledon in the January window and helped Kieran McKenna's side achieve a historic promotion from the second-tier in May.

The Iraqi international mostly featured off the bench in the second-half of last season, and while he did bag some important goals for the Tractor Boys, he is likely to find opportunities at a premium in the top-flight and is set to leave on loan soon.

According to a new report from The Athletic, Ipswich have received loan enquiries from numerous Championship clubs for the 22-year-old, but are yet to agree a deal with any club as no offer has come close to their valuation, and will only allow a move if they feel it is right for them and for and his development.

Stoke should be one of those clubs interested, as the 22-year-old would be the perfect signing to add some much-needed firepower to Schumacher's lacking attack, after his side were the sixth-lowest scorers in the Championship last season.

Sam Gallagher has already arrived at the bet365 Stadium this summer, but is already out injured for two months, while Ryan Mmaee had a tough debut campaign in 2023/24, and neither Niall Ennis nor Emre Tezgel have proven goal records at second-tier level.

Al-Hamadi has not spent long in the Championship as yet in his career, but he displayed some clear quality and clinical striking ability last season that could massively benefit the Potters' chances of pushing up the table in this campaign if he is signed before the window shuts.

Harrison Ashby

Stoke have tried and failed in their pursuit of former Wolves loanee right-back Ki-Jana Hoever this summer, and so must turn their attention to other readily available options in that position, with another Premier League loan likely to provide competition for Junior Tchamadeu.

Harrison Ashby would be a solid signing for the Potters this week, given his potential, likely lack of game-time at current club Newcastle United, and recent second-tier experience on loan at Swansea City.

Ashby made fleeting appearances in the Premier League and Europa League for boyhood club West Ham United before he joined Newcastle in January 2023 for a fee of around £3m, with his contract at the London Stadium due to expire that summer, but he did not feature for the Magpies' first-team in his debut campaign and so joined Swansea City on loan last August.

Ashby began life in South Wales well with a goal and an assist in his first five league outings at right wing-back, but soon lost his place to the in-form Josh Key and then picked up a hamstring injury in November which ruled him out for two months.

The 22-year-old returned to action for three successive starts in January, but then suffered a muscular problem and saw his season end four months prematurely as he returned to Newcastle at the end of the campaign.

He has gone back to St James' Park with seemingly little future in Eddie Howe's side, with Kieran Trippier, Tino Livramento and Emil Krafth all ahead of him in the pecking order and no European competition, which means they don't need as much depth as last season.

Newcastle did not disclose the exact length of Ashby's deal when he first signed, but did say he had penned a long-term contract, so an exit this week would likely be on loan, and Stoke should look to bring him in to provide some much-needed quality and depth at right-back with Tchamadeu their only senior option in that position as it stands.

The 22-year-old showed some great qualities while with the Swans in the Championship last term and has some clear pedigree given his experience in the top-flight and the previous fee paid for him, so he would be a top addition to Steven Schumacher's side if he could stay fit this season.