Stoke City: Outcasted Steven Schumacher favourite looks destined to leave in January | OneFootball

Niall Ennis needs to leave the Potters to revitalise his career

Stoke City may have been struggling in front of goal this season, yet one of their strikers has still not been trusted to try and fix their scoring issues, and needs to depart next month for the good of his career and the Potters' own transfer business.

The Potters are in the midst of one of their worst winless runs in recent years, with boss Narcis Pelach now under real pressure to get it right, despite only being hired midway through September.

Stoke moved to sign Tom Cannon on loan from Leicester City in the summer window, and while he has been their most prolific scorer by some way, he has often looked isolated in the final third, and his clinical finishing ability has often masked his poor all-round performances.

Sam Gallagher was another summer arrival among the forward ranks, but the ex-Blackburn Rovers man has struggled to even make the pitch for the Potters, with a number of injury issues limiting him to very few starts in the Championship up to now.

Aside from that pair, Emre Tezgel and Niall Ennis make up Stoke's strike options, and while the former has been trusted to make his mark off the bench at just 19-years-old, the latter has barely kicked a ball all season.

New reports have suggested that Ennis looks set to leave Stoke as soon as possible, which would be a smart move for both him and the club, as well as a potential League One side that could greatly benefit from his abilities in the third-tier.

Niall Ennis needs to leave Stoke in January

The January window will represent a whole year at Stoke for Niall Ennis, yet he has struggled to prove himself in red and white so far, and looks set to make way in the new year as the Potters aim to bolster their frontline with new additions.

Ennis joined Stoke to aid their troubles in front of goal, after he had shone under former boss Steven Schumacher during their time together at Plymouth Argyle, and had struggled to find his feet at Blackburn following a summer 2023 move to Ewood Park.

Upon his arrival in ST4, he insisted that he had previously played his best football of his career under the ex-Pilgrims head-coach, but yet has also struggled for form since joining the Potters.

Ennis netted just once in 14 league games in his first six months, as he played a peripheral role in Stoke's Championship survival, and he has been pushed further down the pecking order this season due to the arrivals of the likes of Cannon and Gallagher, and Schumacher's surprise September departure.

Ennis has recently been consigned to rarely making the matchday squad, with new boss Pelach clearly unconvinced by his impact on the team when he comes on as a substitute, ahead of a surely imminent departure in January, either on loan or on a permanent deal.

Ennis has already been linked away ahead of January

The 25-year-old was linked with a move to League One sides Barnsley and Wrexham late on in the summer window, but nothing materialised, yet either club could look to reignite their interest in the new year as they each seek a striker to look to help their respective promotion pushes.

His lack of action in the months since, despite Stoke's struggles in front of goal, surely makes a January exit inevitable, but where that will be remains to be seen.

Transfer journalist Darren Witcoop recently reported, via X, that Ennis is expected to leave Stoke in the new year, with Barnsley among the League One clubs keen on securing his services.

It looks as if he will have a number of teams interested in signing him come next month, and the Potters' hierarchy, boss Pelach and supporters alike will hope that they are offered a permanent deal, so both Stoke and Ennis can move on and put a tough 12 months behind them respectively.