6 Stoke-Connected Players PSG Could Sign to Solve Their Striking Crisis

It may only be August, but PSG are facing the injury crisis to end all injury crises. 

Sunday's 4-0 victory over Tolouse saw Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe added to a six-player injury list that already included Neymar and Julian Draxler, meaning their options in the final third consist entirely of...Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Jese.

HECTOR RETAMAL/GettyImages

What do those pair have in common, despite the fact you had forgotten about their existence until this very moment? They have, of course, both featured for Stoke City in the relatively recent past, both playing a part in that ill-fated 2017-18 season that saw the Potters' prolonged stint in the Premier League come to an end. 

With Choupo-Moting going as far as to star with two goals and an assist when called upon this weekend, then, it raises the question - what other Stoke connections could find themselves drafted into the French capital to fill out the squad? We've tried to guess at a few.

Ricardo Fuller

Richard Heathcote/GettyImages

Whether or not Nantwich Town would be willing to part with their target man remains to be seen, but if PSG find themselves in need of a powerhouse striker to offer an experienced alternative to Choupo-Moting, then Fuller could be on the receiving end of a phone call.

The big Jamaican was unplayable for about eight years (the last of which was almost ten years ago, unfortunately) and is a bona fide Stoke legend, having fired 50 goals in 208 games in his six years at the Britannia Stadium.

He might be 40 in October, but he's got another season or two in him yet. 

Robert Huth

Laurence Griffiths/GettyImages

The Parisians' injury troubles stretch further back than just up front, unfortunately. Presnel Kimpembe, Thilo Kehrer and Layvin Kurzawa's respective set-backs have left them short of numbers at the back, and they may well be on the lookout for an experienced head to come in and offer short-term relief. 

Now Robert Huth has of course packed the football malarkey in since leaving Leicester in summer 2018, but surely if PSG were to table him a six-month deal worth £50,000 per week, he'd be thinking about it. Who wouldn't?

As two of the hardest men ever to exist, that partnership with Thiago Silva would be petrifying, even if their combined age is about 110.

Ryan Shawcross

Nathan Stirk/GettyImages

Or alternatively, if they'd rather sign someone who's actually still playing (and is only 31? How?) they could look to the Potters' current captain and resident defensive hardnut, Ryan Shawcross. 

There was a time when, Aaron Ramsey leg-breaking controversy aside, Shawcross was one of the Premier League's leading defenders, and although he's now part of a side struggling in the Championship, he still has a lot to offer. Probably. 

At the very least he'd put himself about, score a header or two, shatter a few shins and make himself a supervillain in the French press. All on his debut. Before getting sent off and signing for West Ham on a free.

Peter Odemwingie

Dave Thompson/GettyImages

Another one you'd forgotten about until you read this article, admit it. At the peak of his powers as a West Brom forward between circa 2011, the Nigerian international bordered on unplayable at times, scoring 30 goals in 87 appearances. By the time he landed at Stoke, not so much, and after leaving, he slipped down the leagues before disappearing into obscurity. 

He most recently showed he still has it with 15 goals in 22 appearances in the Indonesian Liga 1 for Madura United, however. Although he's now 38, he can probably still out-pace most professionals, and has the added bonus of being able to play right across the front line. 

Take notes, Tuchel.

Wilson Palacios

AFP/GettyImages

So Wilson Palacios' Wikipedia page lists him as playing for Real Sociedad. If you're like me (an idiot), that nugget of information might cause you to spend the next five minutes puzzled beyond belief, searching multiple variations of his name and the club to try and figure out how on earth that has happened, only to eventually find out it's C.D. Real Sociedad in Honduras, and definitely not Real Sociedad of La Liga. 

I've digressed. Anyway, Palacios, now 35, is still going in his native Honduras, and with Ander Herrera and Julian Draxler on the sidelines, we may as well throw a banter midfield signing into the mixer. 

What does the move have going for it, other than that it might have seemed reasonable in about 2011? Not much at all really. 

Peter Crouch

OLI SCARFF/GettyImages

He may have retired in the summer, but would you really put it past the bananas career trajectory of Peter Crouch to come out of retirement for one last stab at the big-time? 

Against all odds, the big man made a pretty smashing career of it, and even when it looked as if it was winding down in the Championship with Stoke, a random January move to Burnley - albeit one that yielded no goals - came out of nowhere. 

He also has an abnormally impressive record of scoring in the Champions League, with 18 goals in his 41 appearances in the competition, and it's no secret that's the competition in which PSG  are so voracious for glory.