Stoke Eyeing Real Madrid Star While Midfielder Set To Leave

The Potters could stun giants Manchester United by landing Polish midfielder

Stoke City could be in the mix for Real Madrid loanee Jose Rodriguez in a bid to find a quick replacement for seemingly outgoing midfielder Steven N'Zonzi. Tribal Football reported that Rodriguez, who's current deal with Madrid runs out in July, was contacted by the Potters over a possible switch to Britannia Stadium. The Spain U21 international struggled to make an impact at Deportivo La Coruña where he scored just twice in 27 games last season. According to Defensacentral, his performances haven't impressed Madrid boss Rafael Benitez and a transfer is very much on the cards. Meanwhile, Stoke rejected a 'derogatory' £3m bid from La Liga side Sevilla for N'Zonzi. The Potters' chief executive Tony Scholes said that was far from what Stoke's Player of the Year was worth. Quoted by the Daily Telegraph, Scholes explained: "I can confirm that we received a bid from Sevilla for Steven but it gets nowhere near our valuation of the player. In any case we would obviously like Steven to stay at Stoke City." The Telegraph also reported that the Potters had offered to swap N'Zonzi for £20m-rated Poland international Grzegorz Krychowiak, who is tracked by giants Manchester United and Arsenal. N'Zonzi is entering the last year of his contract with the Potters and have lodged transfer requests each summer since joining from Blackburn in 2012. According to Estadio Deportivo, Stoke values the Frenchman at about £6m.
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