Aston Villa have failed with a bid for Stoke City midfielder Glenn Whelan.
Republic of Ireland’s Glenn Whelan in action with Austria’s Zlatko Junuzovic
Stoke City chairman Peter Coates has told the Daily Mail that Glenn Whelan could still leave the club even after Aston Villa’s rejected bid.
Whelan, 33, joined Stoke from Sheffield Wednesday back in January 2008, and he has been key for the club for almost ten years now.
Stoke City’s Glenn Whelan in action with Tottenham’s Victor Wanyama
The Republic of Ireland international has racked up nearly 350 appearances for the Potters, playing important roles under both Tony Pulis and Mark Hughes.
However, his time at the bet365 Stadium could be coming to an end. Stoke have already snapped up midfielder Darren Fletcher from West Bromwich Albion, and he could take Whelan’s role in the team.
Stoke City’s Glenn Whelan in action with West Bromwich Albion’s Claudio Yacob
That has unsurprisingly triggered speculation over Whelan’s future with Stoke, and a move back down to the Championship could be on the cards if Aston Villa get their way this summer.
As reported by Sky Sports, Villa failed with a £500,000 bid for Whelan on Friday afternoon, with the Daily Mail claiming that Villa would need to increase their bid to around £800,000 to seal a deal.
Stoke City chairman Peter Coates
Now, Stoke chairman Peter Coates has told the Daily Mail that the club wouldn’t want to stand in Whelan’s way should he want to leave, and he believes that a deal is still possible despite rejecting Villa’s first offer.
“If someone comes in for Glenn and Glenn wants to go we wouldn’t want to stand in his way,” said Coates. “I don’t predict things like that in football but it’s a possibility,” he added.
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