Whitehead to sign for Stoke today?

Dean Whitehead could be the Potters’ first signing of the summer as he is reported to be discussing personal terms with the club.

The Sunderland skipper has been a long term target for Stoke but he seemed destined to rejoin his former boss, Roy Keane, at Ipswich with the Tractor Boys and the Black Cats agreeing a £5m deal for both Whitehead and Daryl Murphy.

That deal broke down with the news that Murphy was off to Hull City and it now looks likely that Pulis could have finally landed his catch with the news that the midfielder was at the Brit yesterday amid speculation that a transfer fee in the region of £3m had been agreed with Sunderland.

It’s unlikely that Whitehead’s possible arrival will set the pulses racing among Stoke fans though. If he’s surplus to requirements at the Stadium of Light, some may well question why Tony Pulis feels that Dean’s arrival will raise the standard at the Brit, with the likes of Delap, Lawrence, Whelan and Etherington already occupying the midfield slots with others such as Diao, Tonge, Olofinjana, Amdy Faye and Soares already struggling to get into the squad.