Stoke City are looking to offload their on-loan Aston Villa striker Scott Hogan before the end of the January transfer window, reputable journalist Alan Nixon has revealed.

Hogan joined the Potters on a season-long loan from Villa during the summer transfer window, but has so far struggled to make an impact during his time at the Bet365 Stadium.

The 27-year-old has made 15 appearances in all competitions for the Potters, scoring just three goals, but with just three of those games coming since the appointment of Michael O'Neil as manager back at the start of November, it seems Stoke are now keen to bring an end to his spell at the club.

According to Nixon's latest update, the Championship side are now searching for another club to take over with Hogan for the remainder of his loan.

With Villa possessing no intention of recalling the striker, the task of finding a club for Hogan will fall to Stoke themselves, although it remains to be seen if any potential suitors will emerge for the 27-year-old.

There are currently 18 months remaining on Hogan's contract with parent club Villa, securing his future with the Premier League side until the end of next season.

The Verdict

This may be a difficult agreement for Stoke to secure.

You can understand why they are keen to bring Hogan's deal to an end this month, given he doesn't seem to have settled at the club, and the fact that getting him off the books could free up some space in the wage budget for another new signing.

Given that record at this level however, it may be hard to find another Championship side willing to take a chance on Hogan, while the cost of his Premier League wages may make this hard to afford for a club further down the football pyramid.

It may not be a huge surprise therefore, if Hogan remains at Stoke for the rest of the campaign, although it does at least look fairly certain that there will be no attempt to extend that deal in the summer.