Stoke City boss Michael O'Neill will be desperate for the January window to come around as he looks to strengthen the squad as they look to stay in the Championship.

Successive defeats have shown the Northern Ireland boss just how big a job he has on his hands right now, with finding a prolific number nine a priority next month.

Therefore, it's no surprise to see Stoke have been linked with strikers in recent days. The latest is Ross County's Ross Stewart, with the Daily Record claiming that Blackburn will rival O'Neill's men for the big man who has grabbed five goals in the Scottish Premiership this season.

Whilst that's a respectable tally at this stage, we outline THREE reasons why Stoke should be looking elsewhere in their search for additional firepower...

He isn't proven at this level

The quality of the Scottish top-flight is always a debatable point among English fans but Stewart is still relatively unproven at that level.

Most of his football over the years has come in the lower leagues north of the border and even though he has started the season well, he hasn't shown himself to be good enough over a long enough period yet.

So, whether he will be able to handle the Championship is unknown.

He has never been prolific

It should be stressed that the striker is 23, so we aren't writing him off, but the fact is that he has never been prolific.

Even now, he has managed five in 14 league games, it's decent but not exceptional by any means. Last season he hit six in 23 to help the side to promotion.

Stewart's game is not all about scoring goals but Stoke already have strikers who can contribute in other ways - they need someone to stick the ball in the net regularly! And, the signs suggest the ex-Alloa man won't do that often enough.

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It's an area they can't afford to take risks with

Stoke's top scorer this season is midfielder Sam Clucas, who has five. Of the strikers, Lee Gregory is leading the way on three and two of those have been penalties.

So, you can't really stress enough just how important it is that they sign someone who can hit the ground running.

Stewart may be a decent option and he certainly has time to develop but the Potters are in a relegation battle and they need someone to fire them to safety.