Do we really have a striker problem?

As I work my way through the mornings sport pages, yet again I find Stoke linked with yet more strikers every day. Each morning I ask myself. Do we really need another striker?

In the attacking department we aren`t short of talented front men with the likes of James Beattie, signed in January and scored 8 times during the end of season run in. Ricardo Fuller, last season`s club top scorer with 11 goals, a player with that bit of magic that can turn a game on its head.

And then there is also, still, Dave Kitson who is still the clubs record signing of £5.5mil, he found it hard last season and was subsequently dropped but, so far a decent pre-season has boosted his chances of re-booting his Stoke career. And if that`s not enough we also have Mama Sidibe in the squad, albeit injured.

These 4 strikers are surely good enough to keep Stoke in the premier league. Dean Ashton, who is heavily linked with the club, would improve the attacking options but with the aforementioned names above already here and his shocking injury woes. I ask myself, Would he make a huge difference? Is he worth the £4-5mil we are reportedly paying?

Currently with Mama injured and out until around October we only have three fully fit decent strikers, and so on that score maybe a loan signing until Christmas would do, only as backup. I read somewhere this morning James Vaughan of Everton is a loan target.

Potters fans may have realized I haven`t mentioned Richard Cresswell. Although I have a lot of respect for what he did in the Championship, he just isn`t good enough at Premier league level. I have said all summer to my self that he has to leave, but he is one of those Pulis favourites, so we all know he has a great chance of being involved somehow against Burnley come August 15th.

We`ll just have to wait and see what happens but I`m pretty sure that somewhere along the line a new centre-forward will be joining the squad. I just hope we don`t pay way over the odds for a player we don`t really need.