Exclusive: Stoke City plotting left-field move for record-breaking striker

Stoke City are plotting a move for highly-rated Australian striker Thomas Waddingham, TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal.

Stoke have been busy so far this summer, with seven new signings through the door, but it is acknowledged both inside and outside the club that adding a reliable goalscorer to the squad is likely to make or break their chances of success this season.

The Potters were the sixth-lowest scorers in the Championship last term and although they have brought in Sam Gallagher, Lewis Koumas, Andrew Moran and Bosun Lawal who it is hoped will go some way to solving those issues, a 3-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday was a stark reminder of the work that still needs to be done.

There is interest in signing Tom Cannon on loan should Leicester allow it, while links to Jay Stansfield persist despite Marco Silva insisting he will remain at Fulham. But there will be competition for both players should they indeed be allowed to move on and with time in the window running out, Stoke are looking at who else might be available.

And Waddingham, who is widely regarded as one of the finest young players to emerge from Australia in recent years, has emerged on their radar.

The powerful striker burst onto the scene for Brisbane Roar last year, scoring four goals in the Australia Cup, becoming the youngest ever goalscorer in the finals of that competition aged just 18 years and 186 days.

Waddingham also scored seven goals in his debut A-League season, finishing just one behind Nestory Irankunda who set a record as the highest-scoring teenager in a single A-League season

Irankunda earned a stunning transfer to German giants Bayern Munich on the back of those exploits and we understand Waddingham could secure a major move to England by joining Stoke.

A host of clubs across Europe have been tracking Waddingham’s progress, including Stoke’s Championship rivals Hull City, but it’s the Potters who may be set to launch the first attempt to lure the teenager to England.

Brisbane Roar are aware of the growing interest in Waddingham and are bracing themselves for offers for the Australia Under-23 international.