Stoke City transfer latest as Mark Robins hopes for more to follow Ali Al-Hamadi
Mark Robins still hopes to do one or two more bits of transfer business to give his Stoke City squad a boost after beating competition to sign Ali Al-Hamadi.
Al-Hamadi was watching from the stands as Stoke drew 0-0 with Oxford United, having sealed a loan move from Ipswich Town on Friday. He hopes to make his debut next weekend against Hull.
Robins, who has also brought in left-back Josh Wilson-Esbrand from Man City, has filled up all his five loan spots for a match day squad now but it is clear he would like to bolster other areas before a deadline passes on February 3.
READ MORE: Goal famine needs serious fix as Stoke City look for three missing ingredients
READ MORE: Transfer status of every Stoke City player as January window deadline looms
"I would love to, yes,” he said. “We are where we are and there is plenty of work going on, a lot of irons in the fire I would imagine and people who will fit the bill and hopefully we might be able to get one of those. Whether it's one or two remains to be seen but we still need some help. They are young players and they need that support because it's very clear because they need a breather at times. It's almost cruel sometimes because you keep playing them and you can see they're flagging a bit.
"I thought Junho was involved a lot more than he's been of late when he came on. I was pleased with that element because there's a top player in there and he's got to be involved in real significant moments in games which includes creating and scoring goals. I'm asking for a lot but I'm not asking for the world. I loved scoring goals when I played a million years ago and I hope people will love scoring goals for Stoke City because it's the best feeling in the world as far as I'm concerned."
Al-Hamadi, aged 22, is desperate to play regularly after being used from the bench for Ipswich in the Premier League this season.
Robins said: "I think supporters will really like him. He's synonymous with what the club is all about. He will work his socks off, tirelessly. He's obviously come by an interesting route. He was down at Swansea as a youngster and came to prominence when he went to Wimbledon and scored a fair amount of goals there. He's got something like 36 goals in 51 or 52 starts.
"He's not had many starts in his career but he's been in successful teams. He's been successful with Wimbledon and Ipswich and this season he's been used as a substitute from time to time. He's got quite a varied experience but he will work his socks off and hopefully he will add that menace and being able to get into the penalty area and take those shots and give us a real lift with his performances. That's what I'm looking forward to?"
The hope is that the striker will be able to hit the ground straight away but he is available because he hasn’t been playing so much.
Robins said: "It's January and we've beaten quite a number of teams to his signature. I'm delighted with that in the first instance but January is tough. We've lost Tom Cannon and had to react to that. The club has done that and we've got him in over the line, and while he wasn't available today I'm hopeful that he's going to be available for me next week."
While you're here, we have launched a new WhatsApp group to deliver the latest Stoke news directly to your phone. Click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in. If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave at any time by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking 'Exit Group', simple as that.
