Stoke could soon find themselves in a very awkward position as the counttries two richest sides Manchester City and Chelsea step up their interest in Potters second choice keeper Asmir Begovic.
Chelsea have already had bids of £4m and £4.5m turned down by the Potters, who brought the Bosnian international from cash strapped Portsmouth for £3.25m in January, and the club issued a hands off statement saying, as the only other club in the country, apart from the two bidders, not in debt, they have no financial need to sell and are looking to add to the squad not deplete it with sales of key players.
The bids could now fly up as Manchester City, who have spent nearly £300m in two seasons, including over £100m this summer, join the race for the keeper who has struggled to displace regular number one Thomas Sorensen in the Potters goal.
Man City are looking for a keeper after Shay Given demanded a transfer having lost his place to England number one Joe Hart for the weekends opening game, and have fourteen players they need to get out of the squad before the transfer deadline passes and the 25 man squad rule comes into place.
Both clubs having billionaire owners who are prepared to splash the cash could see the Potters recieve a bid that would force them to sell, with macho pride possibly seeing the pair outbid each other in the first real transfer war between the two clubs since the takeover at Eastlands in August 2008.