Potters are badly in need of more goals in their team this season.
New Stoke City head coach Mark Hughes wants to sign Tottenham Hotspur front man Jermain Defoe on a season-long loan deal this summer, according to reports in the Sun.
The experienced England international has already been told by Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas that he has no future at White Hart Lane this campaign after the north London club splashed the cash in order to bring a number of word-class attackers to White Hart Lane during the close season.
So far, the Portuguese has sealed a club-record £27 million deal for Spain international Roberto Soldado, while Spurs are also believed to be on the verge of landing some-time Brazil international playmaker Willian for £30m.
And that means that Defoe would only be a bit-part player in the capital this season, despite the 30-year-old having managed to find the back of the net on 15 occasions in his 43 appearances in total in all competitions for Tottenham in the previous campaign, including 11 strikes in his 34 Premier League outings.
However, Defoe has already been linked with moves to the likes of Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers and Turkish giants Besiktas since the end of last season, and now Potters boss Hughes is understood to be hopeful of being able to persuade the striker to move to the Britannia stadium on an initial loan deal, with a view to joining the club on a permanent contract next summer.