Schumacher eyes move for Leicester star with Potters in ‘good position’ for a deal

Stoke City are stepping up their plans for the summer transfer window and TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal that Conor Coady is among their top targets.

The 31-year-old Leicester the centre-back played his part in helping the Foxes win the Championship title and secure promotion back to the Premier League.

Stoke have ambitious targets of their own for next season, with Steven Schumacher eyeing a promotion fee, but the manager knows he needs to strengthen his squad.

The Potters are looking for players with experience of playing at the highest level and Coady definitely falls into that category.

He had spells with Liverpool, Wolves and Everton in the Premier League, making a total of 176 top-flight appearances. He also won 10 England caps in his career.

Stoke see Coady as someone who could play a valuable role for them in the near term and TEAMtalk sources say they are working on a loan deal for him.

Leicester are happy with the defender’s contributions so far, but there is a feeling that he is not part of their plans for next season.

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Stoke are in a ‘good position’ to sign Conor Coady on loan

Several teams in the Championship are interested in signing Coady on loan, but this feeling is Stoke I’m leading the race at this stage.

He is under contract until 2026 and earns £75,000 a week with Leicester. Stoke will look to convince the Foxes to continue to pay part of that as part of the deal.

TEAMtalk sources say Stoke are in a “good position” to sign Coady and if he can stay fully fit he could prove to be a valuable addition.

He could provide competition for Ben Wilmot at the Bet365 Stadium and also bring his renowned leadership qualities to the dressing room.

As for other targets, we understand that the veteran Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez is also being considered by the Stoke hierarchy.

The 34-year-old will be out of contract at the end of June and so Stoke could land him on a free transfer.

Schumacher will be hoping that bringing in experienced players like Coady and Rodriguez will help his team rise to the top of the championship table.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how these stories play out in the coming weeks.

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