Stoke City Extra Time: Has the time come for Stoke to cash in on Peter Crouch?

Peter Crouch celebrates his goal at Crystal Palace.

IF theres a new transfer window on the horizon then there must be a Peter Crouch transfer story following close behind.

Its in the rules, we all know that, and the first stories to surface have him linked to both QPR and Crystal Palace.

Nothing particularly new in those links given Harry Redknapp is still at Loftus Road and Tony Pulis was recently at Selhurst Park.

The question is: Will Stoke sell in January?

With six months left on his contract it makes financial sense to pocket what could be a couple of million.

But a couple of million is a drop in the ocean these days, and the loss of Crouch midway through a season, one that could still go either way, would be a massively brave step.

Surely, given the playing resources at his disposal, Mark Hughes could only begin to consider selling Crouch if he had a replacement lined up this January.

And a replacement that would bring height, strength and some kind of goal pedigree to his forward line.

Keeping Crouch for the second half of the season would also allow Stoke to keep their options open on whether they want to eventually offer a new deal to a player celebrating his 34th birthday on January 30.

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Stoke City Extra Time: Has the time come for Stoke to cash in on Peter Crouch?