Stoke City must make Nottingham Forest move as Tom Cannon fear grows | OneFootball

The Potters need to try and sign Emmanuel Dennis, regardless of Cannon's situation

Stoke City face a very uncertain short-term future regarding Tom Cannon's loan situation, but they need a striker addition regardless of if the Leicester City man is recalled, and should therefore make a move to sign out-of-favour Nottingham Forest centre-forward Emmanuel Dennis.

The Potters have been heavily reliant on Cannon's goals so far this season, yet he could be set to leave ST4 soon, amid rumours that Sheffield United and Sunderland are each plotting permanent moves to take him off Leicester's hands and help their respective promotion pushes.

New Stoke boss Mark Robins has moved to recall young frontman Nathan Lowe this month after he was one of the best players in League Two on loan at Walsall but his striker options are still lacking even if Cannon was to stay alongside the 19-year-old.

Sam Gallagher is unreliable due to injuries, while Niall Ennis and Emre Tezgel could each leave the club in the coming weeks due to a lack of playing time, and so Stoke should try to sign out-of-favour Forest man Dennis after a recent report revealed that numerous second-tier clubs are tracking him this month.

Dennis is reliable at Championship level and has previously impressed in the Premier League, so his loan signature would be a coup, but also seems realistic for the Potters to pull off, given his lack of recent playing time at the City Ground.

Emmanuel Dennis would be a top signing for Stoke

Dennis has been a regular goalscorer for years now, with his first real experience coming in the Belgian Pro League with Club Brugge, where he netted 29 times in 116 games over three-and-a-half seasons, bagged numerous times in the Champions League and Europa League, and won three top-flight titles.

He made a £3m switch to Watford in the summer of 2021, and was a real hit at Vicarage Road in the Premier League, as he netted on his league debut and was nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award for November 2021 after playing a key role in big wins over Everton and Manchester United.

The Nigerian international's first season in English football saw him register 10 goals and six assists in 35 appearances in all competitions, and after the Hornets' relegation, he was picked up by Forest for around £10m ahead of their first season back in the top-flight since 1999.

Dennis has failed to ever really settle in the East Midlands, as he bagged two goals in just six league starts in 2022/23, before a loan move to Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir at the start of last season, then a return to Championship outfit Watford in January after his spell in the Süper Lig was cut short.

On the face of it, the 27-year-old's record in his short spell back at Vicarage Road was nothing special, as he netted four times in 17 Championship outings, but FBref's deeper dive into his statistics last season reveals that he was one of the best strikers in the league for goals per 90 minutes, shot on target percentage, carries into the penalty area and aerials won per 90 minutes.

Those statistics bear real similarities to those of Cannon from this season, given that he is a prolific and strong shooter, wins a lot of high balls, and likes to get in behind defences like Dennis. The Nigerian can also play across the front line on both wings and even behind the main striker, so would offer Robins a versatile option if he was to sign.

With Forest on the rise under Nuno Espirito Santo this season, he has found minutes very hard to come by and is yet to make an appearance in any competition as yet, so it is little shock that Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth has reported that three Championship clubs are keen to sign the Nigerian international this month, and Forest will listen to both permanent and loan offers for the player.

Regardless of whether Cannon stays or goes this week, Stoke need to be one of those clubs in the hunt for Dennis, as he would provide great competition in numerous positions, or would be the ideal replacement up front for the Leicester loanee.

Tom Cannon could leave Stoke ASAP

Stoke will likely rue being in the hunt for new strikers this month, but the reality is that Cannon could be recalled from his loan spell very soon, which would leave the club very short in the final third for the next few weeks, so additions are clearly needed.

The Foxes loanee has been the subject of serious interest from numerous fellow second-tier sides in the lead-up to January and over the last two weeks, with the Premier League club reportedly considering exercising their own recall option in his loan deal to then sell him on for a sizeable fee this month.

Whether Stoke are in the know over what decision Leicester are likely to make is unclear at this moment in time, but with the club choosing to bring back their own on-loan hotshot Lowe, it certainly feels like they are anticipating Cannon not being at the club come the end of the window.

Transfer journalist Alan Nixon's latest update is that Sheffield United are ready to offer £7 million to win the race for Cannon's services, but the deal has to be done fast as Leicester must decide on recalling the 22-year-old from Stoke by midnight on Tuesday.

Nixon also claims that Sunderland are also keen on Cannon and that a loan-to-buy arrangement should work, although anyone buying outright would be more likely to clinch the deal.

With that in mind, Stoke must be waiting with bated breath over their loan man's future right now, but regardless of if he is recalled or not, they should already be setting the wheels in motion over either a loan or permanent move for Forest striker Dennis, as he could be the ideal player to bring in to help Robins' side move away from the relegation zone.