Everyone connected with Stoke City will no doubt be delighted that their season has taken an upward turn after a slightly concerning start to the season. With performances improving, Potters manager Mark Hughes is no longer looking over his shoulder at the teams below him and can now look to once again lead the club into the top half of the table.

Stoke do tend to have a habit of starting off slowly and it does make you wonder if they could get out of the blocks quicker than a real challenge for the Europa League places would not be beyond possibility. That said a continued run of form come the turn of the year could yield a spot back in continental football, albeit they may need a slice of luck.

To do that they will probably need to add a few more new faces to the squad over the next few weeks. So, let's take a look at THREE players who could be making their way to the Bet365 Stadium.

Sam Lammers

Another name that Stoke have been linked with as of late is Dutch forward Sam Lammers. The 19-year-old is currently plying his trade for PSV Eindhoven but with the column inches he seems to getting, it must surely be only a matter of time before he joins the long list of Dutch strikers to move to the Premier League.

The 6ft. 2" forward has only recently been called up to the first-team squad after a string of impressive performances for the club's reserve side for whom he scored ten times in 23 appearances in the Dutch Second Division.

And it's that rate of goals which has earned him a place in the first-team squad with Lammers going on to make his full debut earlier this season.

PSV will undoubtedly want to keep hold of this prodigious talent but big bids may make it difficult for them. With Stoke looking short of options in attack Lammers could very well be a useful addition come January.

Lee Grant

Now with Grant already in Stoke colours at present this one may be a little obvious, but if there was one man who has turned round Stoke's fortunes this season it's the on-loan Derby County goalkeeper. The 33-year-old was signed on a six-month loan from the Rams and has been a hit with Potters fans.

After Jack Butland was injured on international duty back in March, Stoke were left with only Shay Given as a recognised senior keeper. In years gone by he would have been a very able deputy but heavy defeats to Manchester City, Tottenham and Crystal Palace showed that father time had finally caught up with Given and further reinforcement to the goalkeeping ranks was required.

And this is where Grant has been the saviour for Stoke. His performances in goal have offered his side much-needed stability at the back and fans will now be clamouring to make sure that the Derby keeper is signed on a permanent basis in the January transfer window, and with Butland still not given a return date it could almost be a necessity.

Sergio Oliveira

When it comes to purchasing players from Porto, Mark Hughes is certainly no stranger. After the record signing of Giannell Imbula last year and the current loan capture of Bruno Martins-Indi, Hughes should add a third player from the ranks of the Portuguese giants

The man in question is 24-year-old Sergio Oliveria. He may not be a name that many outside Portuguese football are aware of but that doesn't mean he is going under the radar of many European scouting networks. If Stoke are to earn his services then they may well have a battle on their hands.

A staple of Portugal's youth set-ups he has represented the current European champions' young sides from U-16s all the way through to U-21s. With a direct route to first-team football blocked in his homeland Hughes may just offer him the perfect route to stardom with a move to Stoke.