Stoke City striker Benik Afobe says he feels the best he has in years and has targeted a minimum of 20 goals next season. 

The 26-year-old scored just nine goals in 49 appearances during his debut season at the Bet365 Stadium.

Afobe found the net just three times after joining the Potters permanently for £12 million in January but appears intent on showing he is worth the money.

Speaking to the club website, the forward said he has been putting in the work over the summer and is determined to get back to his best next season.

He said: "I have worked so hard this summer, I have been constantly on the phone to Jared, our fitness coach, getting advice on everything, my eating, my sleeping and I have lost three kilos because of that.

"Some of the lads have been saying that I am like the new Benik Afobe because I have been training really well and looking sharp.

"But I keep telling them that this isn’t the new Benik Afobe, it is the old Benik Afobe – the real Benik Afobe, and I want to get 20 goals minimum next season.

“That is what I am going to try and be, the player I was at MK Dons and Wolves, the player who knows that he is going to score when he is through one on one with the goalkeeper.

“I want to be the player who runs around and creates opportunities for my teammates – this is the best I have felt since I was 20, 21.

“I feel so sharp now and I am ready to show everybody the real Benik Afobe again – I am so excited to get out there under this manager, with these players and playing in this new system.”

The Verdict 

This statement of intent should excite Stoke fans.

Afobe has disappointing since making the move to Stoke but he has proven in previous seasons with Wolves that he has the capability to get his Championship goal tally into double figures – as he did in both the 2014/15 and 2015/16 campaigns.

If he can return to his best for the Potters then Nathan Jones could have some really dangerous options going forward next season.

Sam Vokes is already at the club, while Nick Powell and Lee Gregory have both joined this summer.