To compliment my weekly round-ups of Stoke City transfer rumours this summer, which really just give an overview, Ill take a deeper look at all the areas we need to strengthen, the players we have been linked with, and what they would mean to the club. I believe that within our present squad, we have the makings of a very presentable Premier League side, as was shown by our twelfth place finish last season. With Thomas Srensen having excelled in goal, Abdoulaye Faye and Ryan Shawcro s having dominated from the centre-back position, Ricardo Fuller and James Beattie having scored thirty goals between them, and Matthew Etherington and Liam Lawrence well established out wide, it seems likely that these players will form the core of our side to start the 2009/10 season in August, and that anysignings in their positions will be made mainly with strength in depth and healthy competition in mind.Faye and Beattie, two players sure to remain as first choice next term One area of the sidemanager Tony Pulisshould definitely look to strengthen is the centre of midfield. Towards the end of the season, Rory Delap and Glenn Whelan provided the core of the side. Delaps long throw obviously provides an important part of the way we approach the game, but by no means all of it as the more bitter and cynical members of the media would have you believe (if all the points gained from goals which resulted from his throws were removed, wed still have stayed up), but hell be 33 next month, andhis significance and level of contribution to theteam will naturally wane as he ages. Whelans play, meanwhile, is dangerously polarised, with cla sy cro s-field pa ses frequently going hand in hand with misplaced short balls and potentially costly mistakes. Therefore, there is room for at least one, and po sibly two Dwight Howard Jersey new centre-midfielders to be signed. We are already rumoured to be targeting a number of talented players in the position, with Cardiffs Joe Ledley, Mallorcas Juan Arango, Hadjuk Splits Senijad Ibrii and Pascal Feindouno, who currently plays for Al-Sadd in Qatar, looking the most likely targets. Though some rather le s appealing names, such as Alan Smith and the little known Swede Andrs Vasquez, have also been thrown into the hat, I am happy for us to be chasing these four players. Arango has shown his cla s in Spanish football and internationally for Venezuela, Feindouno has long been his country, Guineas best player, while Ibrii is a very exciting prospect; aged 23 he has more than 50 career goals already from his favoured attacking midfield role. None of these three should cost more than around 4 million, which is very encouraging, as we could add a quality midfielder to our squad without making too much of a hole in our summer transfer budget.Despite his menacing looks, Arango could fit well into our convivial dre sing room The midfielder that we have been most strongly linked with, Ledley, is the one that Cassius Winston Jersey I would be least happy for us to sign. Ive watched him on a number of occasions for Cardiff and Wales, and from what Ive seen Im not sure he could make the step up to impre s at Premier League level. He seems a rather insubstantial player, with a lot of good touches, but a lack of genuine contribution to the sides he plays for. Hes also the most expensive midfield target on our radar, with Cardiff setting an asking price of 6 million, which would make him our club record signing. Im not convinced that he would be worth anything like that much to us, and I have no desire for us to fill Cardiffs pockets, so perhaps he would be a player best left where he is. Our full-backs are also a concern. With club captain Andy Griffin set to leave the Britannia Stadium after falling out with Pulis, Andy Wilkinson is the only out and out right back in the squad. He held the position for the second half of last season, and for the most part gave a very good account of himself from it, his strong showings belying his youth and inexperience, and I, and most Stoke fans, would be happy to see him retain it. There is little doubt that we need to add depth in the position though, with the most likely target being Birminghams Stephen Kelly. He recently spent four months on loan at Stoke, from February till the end of the season, and despite doing little to win the hearts of the supporters, he seems to have impre sed Pulis, as we Thomas Bryant Jersey are widely tipped to be set to sign him for around 1 million. Hes very highly rated at Birmingham, and though some of his games for us, particularly his debut at Sunderland, were poor, I believe that fully sharp he could be a reasonable a set to the club. I wouldnt like to see Wilkinson displaced, but if Kelly was content to be a second choice right-back, he would be a solid signing.Kelly is yet to prove his worth The left-back position is an equally great concern. It has been occupied by Danny Higginbotham recently, but it generally agreed that he plays best more centrally, and lacks the composure and the attacking edge to his game nece sary to truly shine in the role. Worryingly, with the only options to Higginbotham being another square peg in a round hole, Danny Pugh, and the very raw Carl Dickinson, we have not been linked with a single left-back yet this summer. Hopefully as the transfer window hots up, this will change, as Pulis must recognise that this is a problem that he must endeavour to rectify. As we look to consolidate as a Premier League club, it is important for the fans to be able to see that the chairman and manager have ambition to move forward. One way theyll achieve this is through showing their willingne s to target big name, expensive players, and happily, this has already been evident this summer. Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes was heavily linked with a move to Stoke as a player coach, and while this transfer now seems unlikely to happen, he would represent a major coup for the club, and it is very pleasing to see that we are targeting such high calibre players. The situation is similar regarding Valenciaforward Nikola igi, of whom Pulis is a long time admirer (well he is 68). He is a very good striker with an excellent goalscoring record and would most likely fit very well into our style of play. Rated at upwards of 10 million, signing him would positively smash our record expenditure, not to mention our wage budget, and I would be delighted if it happened. The signing of one well renowned player would also raise the estimation of Stoke City in the eyes of many other potential targets, making it even more vital for us to be prepared to target the best.The thought of Delap throws aimed at igi is enough to set the pulse racing We have also been linked with a number of wildcards, relatively unknown foreign based players, who wouldnt cost the earth, among them Sampdorias veteran midfielder Gennaro Delvecchio and Rosenborg defender Vadim Demidov. I wont pretend to know a great deal about either of these players, and we know Pulis has always been wary of players untried in the English game, but he has said he Ian Mahinmi Jersey is keen to tap into the European market this year, so we could quite po sibly see a player like one of these two in the red and white of Stoke come September. While there are obvious dangers of bringing untried players to the club, we have to faith in the scouting system and our ability torecognise real quality, and believe that any unknown players who come into the club can have as positive effect on our fortunes as those big name signings could. After all, some of our best players in recent years, the likes of Sergei Shtaniuk and Mikael Han son, have been plucked from relative obscurity. As we bring in new players, members of the current squad will inevitably have to make way. Four members of our first team squad, Vincent Pricard, Tom Thorley, Jimmy Phillips and Marc Grocott have already been released, while we have decided against pursuing Henri Camara after his loan spell at the club ended. None of these five players ever really made the grade, and while its sad to see Stoke players fail, there is no place for sentimentality in the world of Premier League football, and their release was without doubt in the clubs best interests. Other, more established players will also be shown the Britannia Stadium door. As well as Griffin, who may well rejoin Newcastle, fringe players Michael Tonge andSeyi Olofinjana have been strongly linked with exits, while Senegalese midfielder Salif Diao is currently deliberating over whether to accept a new contract from Stoke or to look elsewhere when his current deal expires at the end of this month. It makes perfect sense that as exciting, new players are brought in, others will have to leave, and if we really can bring in better people,I would advocate Pulis seeking to sell many of our second string players to the highest reasonable bidder.Occasional Nigeria captain Olofinjana Garrison Mathews Jersey could move on There are also some worrying reports circulating unwelcomely, like vultures to a stranded nomad, suggesting that some of our current best players will be subject to serious transfer bids from higher profile clubs. Arsenal are apparently after Abdoulaye Faye, while Bayern Munich are keen on Srensen, and though both players maintain they are fully committed to Stoke, it would be understandable, once the initial disappointment has worn off for them to want the chance to play for one of Europes biggest clubs. I sincerely hope that nothing more concrete than these initial rumours emerges, but if it is the case that we are given an offer too good to refuse, then it will be vitally important that Pulis is able to put the money gained from the sale of our best players to making further equally shrewd signings. Last year, there were just four major transfer deals involving Premier League clubs completed in the month of June, so as yet it is far too early to become overly concerned by transfer activity or lack of it. I have faith in Pulis to make additions to the squad that will help us consolidate and ultimately better our excellent finish for 2008/09, and as we have proved we are worthy of being considered to be amongst English footballs elite, Stoke should prove to be a more attractive destination for players this summer. It is with hope, faith and expectation that I await further news and look forward to the rest of this summer and the season beyond.