Stoke are prepared to smash their current wage structure and offer Newcastle’s Joey Barton £60k a week in an attempt to bring the midfielder to the Britannia – according to the Mirror.
The Potters are the front-runners in the race to sign the 28-year-old after he fell out with the Newcastle management team and was made available on a free transfer.
Pulis apparently met with Barton`s agent on Wednesday in the effort to tie up personal terms before our big kick off against Chelsea on Sunday.
Spurs and Arsenal have been credited with an interest but are put off by his wage demands, leaving the Potters at the front of the queue.
However, the Metro reports Russian giants Zenit St Petersburg are also keen on the merseyside-born star and are willing to offer a lucrative contract worth around £68k a week.
A very exciting prospect if indeed we are prepared to offer £60k a week, but I’m not sure if we’ll be able to offer such a deal – perhaps Pulis believes Barton would be such a coup that he’d stop at nothing to get his man.
Meanwhile, Stoke are desperately trying to sign Tottenham duo Peter Crouch and Wilson Palacios but as of yet there have been no reports a fee has been agreed, yet alone personal terms – so this one may run a while longer.
Share this article
Related Articles
