Stoke City have had a close shave with the relegation spots and it is an experience which they will loathe being in again. Mark Hughes has been planning and advancing on his ‘Stokalona’ revolution for a couple of years now and while the signs have been encouraging, he hasn’t been able to make his team the finished product yet.
The task in itself, was humungous, with Stoke especially renowned for their physical and slightly brash style of football which solely focused on getting the job done.
But the club decided to change track after a period of stagnation. And Hughes was brought in for his inside knowledge of the Catalan style of football. No one expected Stoke to adopt tiki-taka but there was a hope that by resorting to a more creative build-up, the success of the club will increase manifold.
But they have had to go back to the basics and have temporarily ditched their style of approach. They have gone more direct and have reaped the rewards after a horrible start to the season. While Stoke City have had issues with defence and midfield, they cannot afford to overlook their issues at the top.
The likes of Arnautovic and Shaqiri haven’t been on fire as their skill set and flair promise and with the failure of Bony to adjust to his new teammates till now, they haven’t settled on a set eleven yet. They have also been hit with regular injuries and it has also prevented Mark Hughes from using his tactics with the best personnel at his disposal.
They are currently 11th in the table and are within touching distance of the Top 7. A win or two will probably see them break into the Top 8 but they have Liverpool and Chelsea away from home as their next two fixtures. Hence, it looks likely that they might have to wait for that to happen.
But with the January transfer window upon us, reports have come in about their interest to sign Serie A striker Manolo Gabbiadini. The Italian has been linked with a move away from Napoli after seeing game time hard to come by and has an asking price of around £20m.
Stoke’s issues at the top haven’t been solved yet and Bony hasn’t had the impact expected of him. The likes of Diouf and Crouch are seemingly not considered good enough to lead the line on a consistent basis and hence the interest for Gabbiadini.
Since Gabbiadini joined Napoli in January of 2015, he has netted just 22 times from 70 games. While it doesn’t look like an impressive figure, it should also be noticed that he started most of his games from the bench as he had to play second fiddle to Higuaín. If given a regular chance, he could flourish in the more open Premier League.
It is a transfer which will have its fair share of hurdles but the Potters could do with an attacking player with the vision and impressive attributes that Manolo possesses.
