Stoke boss Tony Pulis is desperately trying to convince holding midfielder Radoslav Kovac to join him at the Potters, five years after he tried to sign him for Plymouth.
A £1m fee has been agreed between City and West Ham for the midfielder but a stumbling block has arrived in Kovac's reluctance to leave the bright lights of London.
Stoke have struggled all summer to convince players to move to the Potteries, with ex-loanee Carlo Nash and seventeen year old Florent Cuvelier the only signings until todays club record move for Kenwyne Jones, who has also had a spell on loan at the Britannia Stadium.