Stoke City at the verge of completing deal with Blackburn Rovers striker inked with £1.5m move.

Stoke City’s summer-long hunt for a striker has led them to Blackburn Rovers and a £1.5m move for Sam Gallagher.

Reports suggest a medical is scheduled for the 28-year-old ahead of a deal being announced later this week after the Potters moved towards Rovers’ demands for a player who cost them £5m five years ago.

Stoke boss Steven Schumacher wants to add two players to his front line, having released Tyrese Campbell and Wesley from a squad that only scored 49 times last season.

It is believed he is also targeting a pacy centre-forward to complement Bae Junho, Million Manhoef and, potentially, Gallagher.

Ryan Mmaee, who will return to training soon, is seen as a second striker while Niall Ennis has suitors if he is allowed to leave on loan. Emre Tezgel and Nathan Lowe, both 18, could continue their development on loan too.

Gallagher, at 6ft 4in, can play in the middle or on the left, where he has been used a lot by Blackburn. He has made 188 appearances since joining from Southampton in 2019, scoring 37 times.

However, he has a reputation for not being as prolific in front of goal as he should be, and fans of both Stoke City and Blackburn have been reflecting on a deal that seems certain to go through.

Here is what they have had to say…

Rovers supporters…

Reg of the Rovers: Gallagher vastly under rated for the quality and work rate he bring to the team.

Dangerous Dave: Work rate is one thing, putting goals in the net another and this is why we paid big bucks for him. Totally under performed, so best away and a big saving on his high wages.

Bull Hill lad: Frustrated the hell out of me. Didn’t get me off my seat many times in the time he has been with us, and for a £5m outlay I can’t give him a great reference.

FrankinMelb: I’ve always liked (and appreciated) Gallagher’s work rate and the good things that come from that. But I’d trade a bit of work rate for a bit more goal scoring and a tad more skill on the ball. That said, I can’t agree with the guys who slag him off – you can rely on him to do a job. We just need better.

Dangerzone: I’d be gutted if he plays against us. Although he doesn’t score, he’s still a nuisance for other sides. We’ll feel the brunt of that I’m sure.

Home Thoughts From Abroad: Across the last two seasons, Gallagher played for an hour or more in 45 Championship games. In those games, we picked up 77 points out of 135 – 57.0%. In the 47 games where he didn’t play, or was on for less than an hour, we picked up 45 points out of 141 – 31.9%.

Toby Wilding: I’d be looking to sell Gallagher, in all honesty. He’s a player that I do like for his work rate and the effort he puts in on the pitch but, as a striker, he doesn’t score enough for the goals that this team needs from that sort of position. There’s also the problem of being the highest earner in the squad which, arguably, can you justify if he’s not doing the main job that he’s there for, in terms of scoring goals?

Stoke supporters…

Chris Gotham: I just don’t get it. What is the point of signing a striker who only has a few goals per season in him. Stoke have long needed a prolific striker who can provide the missing ingredient in the squad. We certainly don’t need another Wesley!

Dontgojimmy: Last season we had a big target man who was once transferred for around £20m. Is Gallagher a realistic target seeing as SS did not appear to want Wesley, or does he believe SG is a better fit than Wesley? I suppose we’ll find out in the next week or so.

Dobinghattrick: If Stoke do sign Gallagher, they know exactly what he brings to the front line, and I’m optimistic about it.

SS knows he isn’t a prolific scorer, but he is good at gelling attacks both as a target man and with his movement. The experienced Gallagher will definitely add strength and variation to Stoke’s attack, and will likely enable Manhoef, Junho, Ennis and Mmaee to chip in with more goals.

That would be an improvement while the club searches for an out right goal scorer….if one is available.

Lucky Jack: I don’t mind Gallacher – he’s mobile, aggressive and physical. Definitely better than what we’ve got. He’d be a good option in the squad to complement a young, developing loan striker. Injury record a worry, but I’d be surprised if he was going to play 90 mins every week.

1972stokie: We do need a big CF target man. The last we had was Steven Fletcher, but unfortunately he was past his best. Instead of cherry-picking the bits about Sam Gallagher and having a moan focus in on Schumacher’s comment about him wanting two strikers. Tom Cannon in addition anyone?

The Ghost: Another season of nothingness – Gallagher is not the answer to our goalscoring woes!