Why Paul Lambert could be taking a serious risk by signing this striker who is seeing a psychologist

Why Paul Lambert could be taking a serious risk by signing Watford’s Troy Deeney

Stoke City are reportedly interested in a January move for Watford striker Troy Deeney. The player was involved in a bust-up with Joe Allen during an FA Cup encounter back in October but it seems like new manager Paul Lambert is keen on overlooking that to bring him to Bet365. As of now, he has made quite a splash in the ongoing transfer window and it is understood that Deeney is the next name on his shopping list.

With the right offer, Stoke might be able to tempt Watford into selling Deeney but is he the right man to address their goalscoring problems?

This season, Deeney’s appearances have been rather limited. He has made 14 appearances in total in the Premier League, out of which 7 have been starts. He has featured as a substitute in the remaining games. He has still managed to score 2 goals and 2 assists and those are not bad numbers considering how little time he has spent on the field. However, there is another worrying statistic. He averages merely 0.6 shots per game and that is not what you want from a striker when you have trouble scoring goals.

That said, Deeney does have experience and he might prove to be an economical option as well. But it must be noted that Stoke are on the fringes of a relegation battle right now. Sitting at 18th place in the table, the Potters have amassed a total of 20 points. West Brom and Swansea are occupying the 19th and 20th spots respectively and are hardly a point or two away from catching up Lambert’s men.

To avoid a relegation scare and to progress higher up the league, Stoke are in dire need of a proven goalscorer – somebody who can go out and deliver results day in and day out. And based on what we have seen from Deeney this season, he does not seem like the ideal option for that.

However, there is no denying that signing him would provide greater squad depth up front. As days progress, challenges will only intensify for Stoke and an experienced presence like Deeney could prove to be beneficial if he gets adequate game time.

That said, Stoke are likely to be better off by scouting the market for other options. In case they are left with nothing by the end of it, perhaps making a move for Deeney would make sense. Regardless of what happens though, signing the 29-year-old will prove to be a risky endeavour and now it remains to be seen if Lambert is confident enough to do that.