Balague says Quique Sanchez Flores has emerged as a top contender for Stoke City

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Stoke City are on the lookout for a new manager.

Sky Sports pundit Guillem Balague has taken to social media site Twitter in order to claim that former Espanyol boss Quique Sanchez Flores has emerged as a leading candidate for the Stoke City job.

The Potters on the lookout for a new manager after opting against keeping Paul Lambert on following the club’s disappointing relegation from the Premier League.

It has been a decade since Stoke found themselves in the Championship, and the Midlands club will want a strong figure in charge as they seek an immediate return to the Premier League.

While the likes of Sam Allardyce and David Moyes have been mentioned as a possibility, Guillem Balague has thrown another hat in the ring by suggesting Quique Sanchez Flores has become a top target.

Sanchez Flores, also known as QSF, has a wealth of managerial experience having managed the likes of Valencia, Benfica, Atletico Madrid and most recently La Liga side Espanyol.

The former right-back had a brief spell in the Premier League as he became the new head coach of Watford in the summer of 2015, helping the Hornets retain their position in the top-flight.

Sanchez is predominantly a pragmatic coach who likes his teams to play controlled football, and he could be an ideal prospect for Stoke as they set their sights on an immediate promotion back to the Premier League.

The Potters have a decent enough squad for the second tier, yet with Flores’ connections across Europe, he could help attract players to the Bet365 Stadium which are out of reach of their potential rivals giving them a big advantage.

The 53-year-old was linked with Stoke in January following the dismissal of Mark Hughes, but he claimed he was happy at Espanyol and had no reason to quit the Catalan club for the Premier League strugglers.

But now that he is unemployed, Flores may see Stoke and a potential promotion as a route back in to a leading country’s top-flight and a chance to restore his somewhat damaged reputation.