Aston Villa forward and Ipswich midfielder on seven-man transfer watch list for Stoke and rivals.
Young players sent out on loan to League One who are hoping they will get the opportunity to impress in the Championship.
Stoke City and Championship rivals will have been keeping a keen eye on which loan players have been impressing in League One over the first half of the season to see who is ready to step up and make a difference in January.
It is a decent list of young Premier League talent that has benefited from a spell in the third tier over the last few years, with Morgan Rogers now shining at Aston Villa, Brennan Johnson playing for Tottenham and Ian Maatsen moving from Chelsea to Villa for nearly £40 million in the summer.
Stoke, at this stage in the club’s Financial Fair Play cycle, will have to be aware to the best available talent to borrow or which prospects might be affordable to come in on a permanent basis. We have run through the ones who are impressing at the moment to see if any can work their way into Stoke’s crosshairs when the market opens on New Year’s Day.
The stand out player in League One and a regular scorer to help newly-promoted Stockport compete for a top six spot.
Can play out wide or through the middle and has already been linked with January moves to Leeds, Middlesbrough or Derby County.
Stockport boss Dave Challinor told BBC Radio Manchester: “When you take a player on loan, especially from a Premier League club, the reality is you know what you’re getting going into.
“We obviously hope that he can stay with us and score another 15 goals in the back end of the season and quite selfishly say that monetises his value more than going to a Championship club and not playing the same amount of minutes that he’s having here.
“That’s a decision that’s out of our control.”
Cameron Humpheys, 21, central midfielder, on loan at Wycombe from Ipswich (14 (2) apps, four goals, four assists).
A key player in midfield as Wycombe bid for promotion and the League One title.
“I was talking to Conor Chaplin about how well Cameron’s doing at Wycombe and I think the surprise levels in the dressing room are really, really low,” Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna. told the East Anglian Daily Times.
“I think everyone internally here was clear about how ready Cameron was and how he was performing and training. He just needed that opportunity to go and play a week in, week out. And he’s grabbing it with both hands at the moment.
“He’s helping the team do well and, of course, the team doing well helps a young player out on loan, so it’s very positive. I’m sure there’ll be some ups and downs, but he’s having a really good experience.”
Caleb Taylor, 21, centre-back, on loan at Wycombe from West Brom (14 (1) apps, one goal)
Could be recalled by West Brom, who will be without injured Semi Ajayi until well into the new year.
BirminghamLive report: “Taylor has been a big part in high-flying Wycombe’s ascension to the top of League One, even above big spending Birmingham City, and scored his first goal in the 4-1 romp over Shrewsbury at the weekend. He has played 15 times in a defence that has kept six clean sheets so far.
“He is highly rated at the club, both by coaches and supporters, and it is no surprise given he has all the attributes to make it at this level. He is tall, strong and good on the ball. Albion showed how much they rate him when they gave the 21-year-old academy graduate a new four-year contract until the summer of 2028.”
