Paul Ukighir
Having witnessed the best and worst of the loan market with Tom Cannon, Mark Robins is aware that it may be a necessary evil for Stoke City at the moment.
He scored 11 goals in half a season, but Stoke was able to bring in a striker they could not have afforded thanks to Financial Fair Play rules. However, he was not their player, and Leicester, his parent club, who have shown a lot of interest in him this month, called him back an hour before a recall deadline late on Tuesday night.
The 22-year-old is still at Leicester as of right now, and although Sheffield United, Sunderland, and Burnley are potential suitors, a return to Stoke is still conceivable if events unfold during the final few weeks of the January transfer window. Additionally, FFP regulations may change this summer.
Robins said: “Well, you always run the risk when you’ve got players on loan that when they do well it will ignite interest in them from elsewhere and Leicester are well within their rights – as we were to recall Nathan Lowe, and this was part of the reason as well because it looked to all intents and purposes like it might happen and it has.
“Tom has been brilliant in the short time I’ve known him. He’s a top, top young man and he’s done great for this football club. I wish him all the best and hopefully will see him in the not too distant future again.”
He added: “It’s circumstances. Whatever your circumstances are you have to cut your cloth accordingly and that’s been the situation here this season. That’s something we’ve got to pick our way through, the financial situation, and it is what it is. We’ve got the players we have and you’re at the mercy of parent clubs about what they want to do. We brought Nathan (Lowe) back from Walsall on that basis.
“It’s difficult because he’s been a really, really good player and a top kid as well, a really good fella. We’ll miss him, the dressing room will miss him. Maybe we haven’t seen the last of him, who knows, let’s see what happens.
“I know they are working really hard to try to resolve some gaps in the playing staff where we need to add but it is tough, it’s really difficult at this stage.”
Robins would not be pressured to consider Cannon going back to Stoke. “Who knows,” he said. “He’s not our player. I don’t want to comment any further on that but let’s see how things develop.”
With Lowe set to make his debut for his own team this season, Stoke is searching the striker market as they travel to West Brom. Other options down the middle are Lewis Koumas, Niall Ennis, and Emre Tezgel, while Sam Gallagher (hamstring) stays in the treatment room.
