Stoke name fee for sought after midfielder

According to the Stoke Sentinel, Stoke City have named their price for sought-after midfielder Glen Whelan.

The Ireland international, who has over 80 caps to his name, has widely been linked with a move to Villa Park in recent weeks, as they look to strengthen their squad this summer in a bid to achieve promotion back to the Premier League. Villa have already offered Stoke 500k for the experienced midfielder, but it was quickly turned down.

Now it is understood that the Potters want at least double that figure, but Aston Villa are yet to come in with an improved offer. Whelan is more than likely going to leave the Britannia Stadium this summer after the recent arrival of fellow veteran Darren Fletcher from West Brom.

The 33-year-old has played nearly 350 games for Stoke since joining the club back in 2008, and he played over 150 times for Sheffield Wednesday in League One and the Championship before that.

Villa already have a number of central midfielders at the club, such as Gardner, Lansbury, Jedinak, Hourihane, and Tshibola, so it remains to be seen whether they will be willing to spend 1m on Whelan. However, if they do, he will bring some much needed experience to Villa Park.