Selling Burger: Stoke City must avoid these 2 transfer scenarios before August 30th | OneFootball

FLW looks at two things that Stoke must make sure don't happen this month

Stoke City are set to ramp up their transfer activity ahead of the new season as deadline day edges ever closer.

Steven Schumacher is at the business end of his first summer window as he heads into his first full campaign as Potters boss after arriving at the club last December and leading his side to safety in 17th place last term.

After the end of the season, he sanctioned the exits of the likes of Tyrese Campbell and Ciaran Clark upon the expiry of their contracts while centre-backs Matthew Baker and David Okagbue both turned down new deals to join Newport County and Walsall respectively, and young keeper Tommy Simkin has also joined the Saddlers on a season-long loan.

Stoke have added some new faces in the transfer market so far, with goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, centre-back Ben Gibson, wing-back Eric Bocat and striker Sam Gallagher arriving from Rotherham United, Norwich City, Sint-Truiden and Blackburn Rovers respectively.

The next month is where the biggest decisions happen though, and Schumacher will be looking to keep hold of his most important players while bringing some more new additions to bolster his squad.

With that said, we have identified two scenarios that the Potters will want to avoid before the window slams shut on August 30.

Wouter Burger is sold

Wouter Burger is set to be a key part of Schumacher's side in the new season after an impressive debut campaign following his arrival from Basel last summer.

Burger joined Stoke for a reported fee of £4.3m last August and soon set about proving his worth with a goal two minutes into his full debut against Rotherham United in the Carabao Cup.

He played European football in Basel and featured for all of the Netherlands' youth sides from U15 to U21 while long being highly rated in his native country, so his move to Stoke raised some eyebrows as a potentially huge coup for the club.

That has been proven correct, after a stellar debut season at the bet365 Stadium where he registered four goals and four assists in 41 games in all competitions and impressed with his mature, imposing presence in central midfield - his impact on Stoke's performances since his arrival cannot be understated.

The 23-year-old is a must-keep for Schumacher this summer after a previous TEAMtalk report confirmed that Stoke face a battle to keep him due to interest from Tottenham Hotspur, relegated Sheffield United, and two other unnamed sides from within the Premier League.

Journalist Fraser Gillan has since stated that Spurs are 'big fans' of the Dutchman, and a fee of around £12m is reportedly set to be enough to prise him away from the bet365 Stadium, but he remains a Stoke player as it stands, and that has to continue if the Potters wish to push up the table in 2024/25.

A new striker is not signed

Schumacher is clearly targeting more new additions to his forward line this summer, as he looks to improve on Stoke's strikers' poor record in 2023/24.

The boss has already allowed Tyrese Campbell and Wesley to leave the club this summer and has added to his frontline with Gallagher arriving from Blackburn, but it is widely believed that Stoke will aim to bring in another, more clinical forward before the window is shut.

There needs to be an improvement on Stoke's mediocre record in front of goal last season - the Potters were the Championship's sixth-lowest scorers in 2023/24 and their highest-scoring centre-forwards in the league were Ryan Mmaee and Campbell with just three goals each while winger Andre Vidigal was the club's top scorer, with six.

Stoke have been linked with the likes of Ike Ugbo, who instead looks likely to re-join Sheffield Wednesday, and Sinclair Armstrong, who has since moved to Bristol City, so are seeing their reported targets slip through their fingers, but must avoid that happening again before the window is shut.

Leicester front-man Tom Cannon was also reported to be a player of interest by The Telegraph earlier in the summer, but that deal now looks unlikely to happen after Alan Nixon recently stated that the Potters have dropped out of the race for his signature.

Stoke have most recently been linked with a move for free agent Jeremy Livolant by journalist Darren Witcoop, after his Bordeaux contract was terminated due to their financial issues, so he could be one for Potters fans to keep an eye on this month.

Livolant is a winger by trade, but can also play as a striker, so he may be the answer to Schumacher's current forward woes, with the season set to get underway and both Mmaee and Gallagher currently injured.

It would show a real lack of planning and ambition if the Potters do not bring in a new striker before August 30, and they must try to get their business done as quickly as possible to allow time for any new addition to bed in and get to know his teammates.