Stoke City told Tom Cannon truth as striker prepares for £10m transfer with promotion in mind
Stoke City have been told that they never saw the best of man-in-demand Tom Cannon. The loan forward bagged 11 goals for the Potters before being recalled by parent club Leicester City last week, and now seems destined to join Sheffield United in a reported £10m deal.
And a man who knows all about scoring goals has had his say on the Republic of Ireland striker as he gets set to join the Blades’ push for Premier League promotion.
Sky pundit and former Wolves, West Brom and Sunderland striker Don Goodman told the website casino.co.uk : "Stoke are definitely going to miss him. He scored just under 40% of their Championship goals before leaving, nine of their 24 goals.
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"It's a huge blow for them, there's no doubt about it, but I still don't think Stoke quite saw the best of him; I think there's more to come from him.
"When he was at Preston two seasons back, I looked and thought, ‘Wow’. He looked such a dynamic, quick and hard-working striker. He had that old-fashioned mould about him; not too dissimilar to Liam Delap at Ipswich Town, maybe slightly less physical, but he certainly knows how to finish.”
Financial fair play concerns meant Stoke were never in a position to contemplate buying Cannon themselves, but Sunderland and Burnley, another two clubs aiming for promotion this season, have also been credited with an interest in the 22-year-old. Cannon is reported to be having a medical in South Yorkshire today.
Goodman, who bagged more than 160 goals in his career, added: "I'm not surprised that clubs at the other end of the table, with respect to Stoke, are challenging for his signature. I can understand it, everyone needs a goalscorer, and he has the attributes for sure."
Goodman’s comments come as Stoke prepare to play Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Wednesday (7.45pm kick-off). It was in the reverse fixture, a 6-1 home victory back in October, that Cannon had his finest moment for the Potters, bagging four goals in the game as the hosts ran riot.
