Keinan Davis and Jack Clarke are loan targets for Stoke City with the Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur youngsters potentially on their way to the Championship, as reported by the Mail.
With ill-timed injuries to Steven Fletcher and Tyrese Campbell hitting the play-off-chasing Potters hard, Michael O’Neill knows that the January transfer window represents an ideal opportunity to add some depth to his stricken front line.
Stoke have scored just two goals in six games without fleet-footed talisman Campbell, although the impending arrival of Schalke’s Wales international Rabbi Matondo will help fill the void.
The Mail believes that a pair of highly-rated Premier League prospects could join Matondo in the Potteries over the next few weeks.
Davis has played just 47 minutes of league football for Aston Villa in 2020/21 but could find opportunities easier to come by in the division below.
Like Fletcher, Davis is not the most prolific of number nines, but his strength and work-rate could make him a nightmare for centre-halves at Championship level.
£9 million Tottenham starlet Clarke, meanwhile, ripped second-tier full-backs apart during his 2018/19 breakthrough season under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United.
And the sight of Clarke, Matondo and Campbell in full flow could transform Stoke – pragmatists rather than purists under O’Neill – into one of the Championship’s most watchable teams.
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