Asmir Begovic – Club: Everton – Age: 34 – Fee: Free Transfer

Stoke’s need for an extra ounce of quality in the goalkeeping department has become evident this season, with young shot-stopper Joe Bursik still gaining experience and gradually starting to improve as a number one Championship goalkeeper despite a spell out of the starting XI in favour of Irish goalkeeper Jack Bonham. Adam Davies also left a big gap in the squad when he left for a reported fee of £270,000 to Sheffield United. This gap could be filled by Stoke City icon Asmir Begovic, whose contract with current club Everton is set to expire at the end of June.

Despite limited game time at Everton, Begovic could provide tough competition to both Bursik and Bonham for The Potters’ number one spot, a spot Begovic has previously held. The Bosnians’ return would also provide a nostalgic lift for the fans following his visit to the Bet365 Stadium to promote his brand of goalkeeping gloves back in April. Could Begovic make a more permanent return to stake a second claim to the Stoke City number one shirt?

Liam Delap – Club: Manchester City – Age: 19 – Fee: Season Long Loan

A name that seems to get linked to Stoke every time a transfer window opens is Liam Delap and even a few summers down the line it is clear that the Manchester City wonderkid could still be the answer to The Potters’ search for a striker who can help share the pressure of scoring goals with the likes of player of the season Jacob Brown and Tyrese Campbell.

Delap started this season with a reoccurring ankle injury that kept the young striker side-lined until December when he returned to Manchester City training. Despite these issues, Liam Delap has still had an excellent season for The Citizens under-23s side, scoring eight goals and recording two assists in ten games, an impressive return. The son of Stoke City legend Rory Delap has also appeared under Pep Guardiola in the first team, making appearances in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

Kaine Kesler-Hayden – Club: Aston Villa – Age: 19 – Fee: Season Long Loan

A lot has been made of Stoke City’s use of the loan market under manager Michael O’Neill, with the season just gone arguably being his best use of it. One signing that gathered the Northern Irishman a lot of praise was tricky winger Jaden Philogene-Bidace from Aston Villa, who in the few appearances he made for The Potters before and after his injury, which took Bidace out for a majority of his loan spell, impressed under the Stoke coaching team. With that in mind, could Kaine Kesler-Hayden be another explosive youngster to bring in from The Villans?

Described by many as the ‘perfect modern day full back’, Kesler-Hayden could fill the gaping hole Stoke now have at right back/right wing back following the departure of Tommy Smith on a free. Kesler-Hayden has everything a manager could dream of for a modern-day full back, frightening pace, fantastic delivery, technically brilliant and defensively capable, the former Swindon Town loanee’s game contains all the attributes of a player who could comfortably play at the top level of English football one day. He is coming off of a positive loan spell with MK Dons in League One, where The Dons reached the play-off semi-finals, falling just short of the final as they lost 2-1 on aggregate to Wycombe Wanderers.

The Potteries could be the perfect destination for the Birmingham-born full-backs next move as he would be guaranteed regular game time to develop with O’Neill’s men currently only having one right back on the books in Demeaco Duhaney, who’s contract expires in 2023.

Josh Laurent – Club: Reading – Age: 26 – Fee: Free Transfer

Another player that was previously strongly linked with a move to ST4 back in 2020 before he eventually moved from Shrewsbury to Reading. Laurent could bring plenty of quality to a Stoke City midfield that could be left desperate for it, with reports stating that club captain Joe Allen could be set to finally make his departure from Staffordshire after 6 years at the club.

Laurent is a versatile midfielder, capable of playing several roles whether that be as a box-to-box midfielder thanks to his athletic ability and size, as an attacking midfielder due to his artistry in driving the ball up the pitch and his wide range of passing or even as one of the wingers in a front three (a position he had previously filled in at during his time with Shrewsbury).

In addition to all that Laurent is hard-working and has a great engine to bring energy to a midfield that has been depleted of it in recent years. With Laurent starting to come into what should be the ‘peak’ years of his career at 26, surely, it is a no-brainer to sign the former Shrewsbury and Wigan man on a free this summer?

Scott Twine – Club: MK Dons – Age: 22 – Fee: Reported £3 Million

There is only one word to describe MK Dons playmaker Scott Twine and that is special. The Swindon-born attacker’s stats speak for themselves with Twine playing 46 games in League One this season, netting 20 goals and producing 13 assists in a very good MK Dons side that would not have been nearly as prolific without the young talisman.

Twine is one of those players that can make a decent side like Stoke into a great side, bringing about the kind of quality needed to be a top end Championship team. The 22-year-old can do it all, a top-class crosser of the ball, an exceptional set-piece taker with James Ward-Prowse-like technique when delivering or shooting from dead balls, quick feet to leave opposition defenders stranded and pace to go with it. Twine is the real deal, a player that almost every Championship club will surely be after.

If he were to combine with the likes of Nick Powell, a fully fit Tyrese Campbell, player of the season Jacob Brown and pacey wing-back Josh Tymon, The Potters attack would cause every kind of issue for Championship defences.

The Championship equivalent to Steven N’Zonzi – Fee: Unknown

Admittedly, I have cheated in choosing this last player that I believe Stoke should look to sign in the summer, because I am not entirely convinced, he exists!

Of course, Steven N’Zonzi himself is likely never going to feature for any team in the Championship, the quality of the league just simply is not up to the level of quality the Frenchman can provide on a football pitch even at the age of 33, that much is clear, even if Stoke fans would give every limb on their body for the World Cup winner to return.

The reason I include N’zonzi’s name on the list is simple, we never truly replaced the six-foot-four dynamic midfielder and the closest we ever came was when ex-manager Mark Hughes splashed out a club record fee for Porto midfielder Giannelli Imbula who, despite being mega talented, did not have the desired effect on Hughes’ side and was sent out to FC Toulouse just over a year after signing in what would be the first of a series on loans until the Congolese midfielder was released on a free transfer to Sochi in 2020.

If The Potters can find that physically imposing player who is capable of controlling a game from the centre of the park, winning balls deep in midfield and carrying them up the other end of the pitch effortlessly to release Stoke’s more creative players in on goal then it could be the difference between a midtable finish and a promotion season for the Staffordshire-based side, see why I said I cheated?