Stoke City are among the Championship clubs tipped to be trying to sign Jayden Danns on loan from Liverpool.
The 19-year-old forward is highly rated at Anfield and Arne Slot is weighing up whether to let him out for the second half a season when their first team is still challenging for the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup. He is also being linked with Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End by The Athletic.
He scored twice in the FA Cup last season but missed the first few months of this term after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back. He is now fit and scored in a cup win over Accrington Stanley this month. He has played in various positions across midfield and the front line as he has come through the Liverpool academy with an impressive goal record but he is emerging as an out-and-out striker.
Boss Slot said last week that he was weighing up various factors when it came to whether he should sanction a loan exit at this stage, including an injury to Diogo Jota.
He said: “You take a lot of things into account if you want to loan out a player and this could be one of them, but there are also other factors you take into account. Is it good for a player to get some playing time, yes or no? Do we think we still need him?
“We do already have three options for the number nine position. It’s not like that we now expect Jota to be out for a long period of time. It will be a struggle to have him on the pitch on Saturday but we are hoping to see him on the pitch in the near future again.
“We have three options, but Jayden did really well when he came in so we have actually four options and it’s up to us as a club to make the best possible decision for the near future but also the long-term future of this club.”
Stoke already have Danns’ mate Lewis Koumas on loan from Liverpool and, like Koumas with his father Jason, Danns’ dad Neil is a former pro and his CV includes spells at Crystal Palace, Birmingham City and Leicester. Danns Sr came through the youth system at Blackburn Rovers alongside Stoke sporting director Jon Walters.
Koumas is getting a lot of game time at the bet365 Stadium and after an eye-catching display at West Brom on Saturday, he posted on social media, alongside a dancing emoji: “Enjoying myself. Good point at the Hawthorns, Thank you for the away support it’s massive.”
Stoke have already recalled their own academy graduate Nathan Lowe from a superb loan spell at Walsall as Tom Cannon has been recalled by Leicester. Lowe scored in a 1-1 draw at the Hawthorns. Sam Gallagher is currently recovering from a hamstring injury while Emre Tezgel is hoping to impress new manager Mark Robins and fringe man Niall Ennis has been linked with a January move.
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