Stoke City must resist any Ipswich Town transfer opportunity this summer | OneFootball

Ali Al-Hamadi did not do enough in his Potters loan spell to warrant another move for his services

Stoke City may be tempted to re-sign Ipswich Town striker Ali Al-Hamadi this summer after his recent loan spell at the club, but they should avoid bringing him back to ST4 as they look to move up the Championship table under Mark Robins next season.

Al-Hamadi joined the Potters on loan from the Premier League strugglers late in the winter window, with the aim of rediscovering his scoring touch at the bet365 Stadium after a tough half-season spell in the top-flight amid limited chances to make an impact in Kieran McKenna's side.

He bagged on his Stoke debut in a win over fellow bottom-half side Hull City, but only scored once more in red and white as he ended the campaign behind Sam Gallagher in the forward pecking order while Robins' side looked to pull away from the relegation zone.

The Potters stayed up after a close call at the end of the season, and while Al-Hamadi formed a strong relationship with supporters both at games and on social media, he did not do enough to be worthy of another spell at the club.

Stoke may be tempted to look to re-sign the Iraqi international as they look to build a settled squad of players who want to be at the club, but they should not bring him back and instead look elsewhere to solve their forward problems.

Ali Al-Hamadi started well but tailed off in his loan spell at Stoke

Stoke thought they had hit the jackpot with the loan capture of Tom Cannon from Leicester City last summer, and he turned out to be a key goalscorer for the club in the first-half of the campaign with 11 goals in 25 appearances despite their tough season as a team.

Their worst fears were realised in the January window, however, as he was recalled by the Foxes to be sold on to promotion-hopefuls Sheffield United for a fee that Stoke were unable to even come close to affording. The Potters were in need of a new centre-forward to rely on to score regularly, and Al-Hamadi was passed the baton to become Robins' main number nine as he joined from Ipswich.

He got off to a great start with a goal against Hull, but then did not score in any of his next six outings and even saw his main competition in Gallagher bag a brace off the bench against Coventry City.

Gallagher's exploits may have spurred Al-Hamadi on to make a bigger impact against Blackburn Rovers in the next game, and if they did, it worked like a dream as he netted the winner to move the Potters four points away from the bottom three.

That moment was about as good as it got for the Iraqi international on a personal level, however, and he began to struggle for game-time after missing Stoke's next home game through injury, which saw them win 3-1 against QPR and flourish in attack in his absence.

He started just three of the club's final seven league games, with boss Robins largely choosing to put his faith in Gallagher in important games, while he was substituted off before the hour mark in two of those three starts.

Al-Hamadi's season did end on a brighter note though, as he put a real shift in to help the Potters over the line to safety against Derby County on the final day of the campaign.

Al-Hamadi enjoyed his time at Stoke - Mark Robins must not let sentiment dictate his transfer decisions

Al-Hamadi was serenaded by Stoke's travelling support after that Derby game, which was indicative of how they had taken to him in a short space of time, as well as the desire to take to another loan striker after Cannon's quick January exit left many at the club fearing the worst.

The 23-year-old clearly enjoyed his time in North Staffordshire, as shown by his emotional parting message to fans on Instagram last week, but his on-pitch impact was simply not enough to warrant another move.

Stoke need to move on and look for a striker who is guaranteed to score goals in the second-tier, like Cannon was when he was signed last summer.

Al-Hamadi may well be available on a permanent deal from Ipswich this summer, dependent on their own transfer business, and the Potters are not exactly blessed with sizeable funds to splash in the coming months, so it would seem a gamble to spend relatively big on a player who has already struggled to find the net consistently under Robins.

Stoke chairman John Coates recently admitted that the club had not got their recruitment right since they dropped into the Championship seven years ago, and revealed that there are plans in place to revamp their transfer model to a more data-led approach under new Head of Recruitment Ian Torrance this summer.

With that said, it certainly seems unlikely that Al-Hamadi will appear near the top of many attacking metrics as the Potters search for a new centre-forward to hopefully lead them up the Championship table next season.

The 23-year-old certainly took to Stoke better than most players have done in recent years, and put a shift in to help keep the club in the second-tier, but there is no time for sentiment and emotion when it comes to building a good team, and it would make little sense for him to return to ST4 this summer.