ACCORDING TO REPORTS, Glenn Whelan’s future at Stoke City could become a lot clearer later this week when manager Mark Hughes is due to meet with the club’s chairman Peter Coates to discuss future plans.
The Stoke Sentinel says the Republic of Ireland midfielder, who is quickly approaching the final six months of his current deal, wants a minimum two-year extension. The 30 year-old has been with the Potters since 2008 and has racked up over 200 appearances for the side, establishing himself as a crucial part of Tony Pulis’ overachieving team.
Under Mark Hughes, he’s flourished too though injuries have interrupted his season and may count against him when the hard bargaining begins. Stoke, as per many Premier League teams, don’t want to agree medium-to-long term deals with players approaching the final years of their career and may feel they have enough in central midfield to deal with a possible Whelan departure.
The preference, naturally, would be to sell the former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder in January rather than lose him for nothing next summer.
A number of top-flight clubs are reportedly in the mix to sign Whelan should he fail to come to an agreement with Stoke.
Swansea, Crystal Palace and Sunderland are all believed to be monitoring the situation.
First published at 12.29