Derby County and Aston Villa are said to be pursuing the Stoke City midfielder.
Republic of Ireland midfielder Glenn Whelan [right]
Derby County hope to steal a march on Glenn Whelan suitors, Aston Villa, after selling Will Hughes to Watford, The Mirror reports.
Hughes looks set to depart Pride Park for a fee which could reach £8 million and it is claimed that Derby boss Gary Rowett will use the money to ‘finance a rebuild’ – starting with Stoke City’s Whelan.
Aston Villa are said to have had a £500,000 offer turned down by the Potters earlier this month, but are yet to follow that up with the Premier League seeking double that amount and Villans chairman Tony Xia adopting a more cautious approach to spending this summer.
Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia
Derby have also curbed their expenditure compared to recent seasons, but Hughes’ sale is expected to see the purse strings loosened once more.
Nevertheless, The Mirror reports that the Rams are still willing to sell Tom Ince, their 2016-17 top scorer, if Huddersfield Town increase their initial offer to £10 million.
Derby County winger Tom Ince
At 33, Whelan is eleven years’ Hughes’ senior, but boats vast Premier League and international experience, and was promoted with both Stoke and Sheffield Wednesday earlier in his career.
According to The Sun, Aston Villa are close to signing versatile Hull City player Ahmed Elmohamady for £3 million.
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