Boss Roy Keane has confirmed Stoke City’s interest in skipper Jon Walters, but says the clubs are yet to agree a fee. Yesterday, Walters was linked with a £3 million move to the Britannia Stadium.
The Town manager says talks have been continuing throughout the close season: "We’ve had loads of discussions with Stoke all summer."
Asked whether he thought that Stoke would be successful in their move, Keane said: "If they reach an offer that the owner feels is acceptable, like every other player on the planet. There’s a good chance [that he’ll go]."
The Blues boss says he doesn’t expect the move to be completed for a couple of weeks: "I think he’ll be with us for Saturday.
"I think if anything it’s going to be the next week or two, obviously the Premiership doesn’t start for another week or so and there’s usually fun and games in the negotiations as you’d expect, particularly with certain clubs and certain managers, so I’d expect this one to drag on a little bit longer.
"Jon’s aware of it, but it’s obviously very hard to stop a player when they have the opportunity to play in the Premiership, but the players are also under contract here.”
A number of other clubs are also chasing Walters’s signature, with QPR previously claimed to have had a £2.5 million offer rebuffed by the Blues.