Stoke City transfer latest as Leicester boss delivers Tom Cannon update
Ruud van Nistelrooy admits there are "decisions to be made" on Tom Cannon in a crunch week for Stoke City and their loan striker.
Cannon, aged 22, has scored 11 times already this season, including the opener in an FA Cup third round tie at Sunderland on Saturday. He is currently training at Clayton Wood before a Championship trip to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
But Leicester have the power to trigger a recall from an intended season-long deal in January and Sheffield United are ready to dip into their parachute payments to try to tempt him to Bramall Lane.
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Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy told LeicestershireLive today: “He’s one on the list for us. We keep a close eye on him. Tom’s situation is closely assessed. There are decisions to be made on that. It’s still a possibility (he stays at Stoke). But we’re looking at what is best for his situation and what is best for the club.”
Cannon had earned a move believed to be worth about £6m from Everton to Leicester in the summer of 2023 after scoring regularly on a half-season long loan at Preston North End.
But the medical when he signed flagged up a stress fracture in his lower back and he was sidelined until December, then stayed largely on the fringes as Leicester won promotion to the Premier League. He barely figured in pre-season and was desperate to go out and play consistently, turning down permanent offers to join Stoke.
He has been given a platform at Stoke to already clock up more minutes than any other season to date and is on course to become the first Stoke player to score 15 times in a season since Ricardo Fuller and Liam Lawrence in 2008, Teammates and supporters have been flooding him with love in hope he will see out the campaign at the bet365 Stadium.