Stoke target wonderkid Lukaku in loan deal

Stoke are attempting to seal a major coup by loaning new Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku on a four-month-deal, according to The Sentinel.

The Belgian international signed for the Blues for £20 million earlier on in the summer but will find first-team opportunities limited, with the likes of Drogba, Anelka, Fernando Torres and Danny Sturridge all thought to be ahead of him in the pecking order.

The Potters only have two recognised strikers who are currently fit and Pulis is desperately working behind the scenes in an attempt to bolster his options up front – and it seems Lukaku is a genuine target, along with Birmingham’s Cameron Jerome and England striker Peter Crouch.

Lukaku bagged 16 goals in 37 league games last season for top Belgian side Anderlecht & has been dubbed ‘The new Drogba’.

Many players have been given that title, but the man who Andres Villas Boas claims is an ‘interesting prospect’, is more than suited to it.

Meanwhile, Wilson Palacios is expected to sign for Stoke before the end of the window, probably today, after Spurs boss Harry Redknapp confirmed the Honduran destroyer was having a medical at Stoke – The Potters are now thought to be waiting for international clearance.

It promises to be a very exciting, and anxious, couple of days ahead,

Oh dear, THE LUKAKU DEAL IS OFF, according to PL rules – a player can’t go out on loan to another PL club in same window.

Disappointing, but there’s every chance Stoke will go back in for him in January. #posted 11:55am