Stoke City have been making manoeuvres in preparation to strike in the transfer market – amid reluctant patience for the summer window to burst into life.

Stoke will be busy with comings and goings in the final five-and-a-half weeks before deadline day, determined to keep a tighter squad than last season with a mantra of making sure the budget is on the pitch rather than in the stands.

It is no secret that a forward or two are top of the shopping list following the release of Tyrese Campbell and Wesley, with loan suitors on alert for Emre Tezgel as well as Nathan Lowe in the case of incomings at the bet365 Stadium. But so too do Stoke have to bide their time, waiting in a chain of deals that prompt a player’s status to change.

And business has been slow so far in the Premier League in part due to the Euros and Copa America and players returning later for pre-season. This is the first summer in three years when there has been a major tournament, which always affects the flow of deals. There are a group of top flight clubs whose windows are being dictated by their own profit and sustainability concerns, which has another knock-on effect.