Clarets striker Andy Cooke today completed a £300,000 move to hometown club Stoke City.

Cooke has lost his regular starting slot at Turf Moor over the past couple of months following the arrival of Ian Moore and the form of Graham Branch.

Boss Stan Ternent also signed Paul Robinson on loan from Wimbledon and has lodged a bid for Birmingham City's Dele Adebola as he looks to strengthen his attack.

And with Cooke no longer commanding a place at the head of the queue for a starting slot, Ternent accepted the Potters' bid, allied to a sell-on clause, for the 26-year-old Stoke-born player who would have been a free agent next summer.

"Andy hasn't been getting regular first-team football and is out of contract at the end of the season, so really the time was right," said Ternent.

"Andy fancied it, it's his hometown club and he will get first-team football. He's been very good for us but I think the time was right for Burnley Football Club and for Andy.

"You need a squad of players but from the player's point of view it wasn't very satisfactory to be not playing. He's done very well for us so I felt it was right.

"He has been a great servant for many years and we all wish him well for the future," said Ternent.

Stoke have responded to their 8-0 mid-week Worthington Cup thrashing by Liverpool by turning to Cooke to pep up their Second Division promotion bid and he is set for a debut at home to Luton Town tomorrow. City's director of football, John Rudge, is a long-standing admirer of the powerful front man, having previously tried to sign him for Port Vale.

Rudge said: "I have seen a lot of him over the years and watched him again recently. He's got a good goal-scoring record, he's strong and leads the line well."

Cooke, who joined Burnley from League of Wales side Newtown in 1995, jumped at the chance of regular first-team action after seeing his chances dry up at Turf Moor.

A regular in the Clarets side for the last four seasons and at the start of the current campaign, Cooke scored almost 70 goals for the club, none more important than the two that saved the Clarets from relegation to Division Three and possible oblivion in the last match of Chris Waddle's reign in 1998.

The income from Cooke's move to Stoke on a three-and-half year contract will strengthen Ternent's hand in the transfer market, although he insists he won't up his bid for Adebola which is thought to be £700,000.

Ternent added: "I've spoken to Karen Brady and I don't think our bid's going to be high enough, but I won't be moving.

"I have made a bid for Dele Adebola and I would like him to become a Burnley footballer."

"And that now that Trevor (Francis) has let the cat out of the bag the bid will remain the same."

"It's not my way to conduct business. I won't get involved in an auction. The bid's in. If they accept it fine, I would like to talk to the player. If they don't that's also fine.

"I won't move from that but I'd like him to play for Burnley Football Club."

"I've watched him for some considerable length of time and I think he would be a good acquisition for us. When players of that quality become available then I've got to be interested."