After a poor run of form, Stoke City have bounced back with two vital wins against Bolton and most recently, a hard-fought 1-0 win away to in-form Norwich City. 

The win took Gary Rowett's side up to 14th in the Championship table and he will be fully focused on getting his Stoke side pushing for a top six place, and for an immediate return to the Premier League.

A large number of the squad played in last season's campaign in the Premier League, so there is certainly strength in depth within the Potters squad.

But many would have expected to see Stoke already in the top six at the start of the season, so to see them struggling and with four defeats already this season, there are definitely improvements to the squad that can be made in January.

But who does Gary Rowett need to bring in to help aid his side's promotion bid?

Find out here...

The West Ham youngster has struggled to break into the first-team set-up despite loan spells at Reading and Borussia Monchengladbach.

A loan deal is probably the ideal scenario for Stoke here, as West Ham are likely to command a high fee for Oxford who is considered as one of their best young prospects.

Oxford would add some depth to the squad as he can play as both a centre-back and a central defensive midfielder.

The Everton youngster spent all of last season on loan at Championship side Nottingham Forest and was a vital part of their squad in an impressive season for the midfielder.

He made 38 appearances, scoring nine times and assisting on four occasions.

Dowell would add some much-needed creativity alongside Ryan Woods in the Stoke side and would be an excellent addition to play in behind leading scorer Benik Afobe.

The Huddersfield central midfielder hasn't hit the ground running as he would have planned to since his move from Championship side Reading.

Williams made on 11 starts for Huddersfield in his first season in the Premier League, but injury has ruled him out for large parts of last season.

With the good form shown by the midfield trio of Jonathan Hogg, Phillip Billing and Aaron Mooy, Williams is unlikely to be able to force himself into David Wagner's starting XI