Wollscheid set for Stoke

Stoke boss Mark Hughes expects the club to soon wrap up the loan signing of defender Philipp Wollscheid from Bayer Leverkusen.

The Potters have shaken hands with their Bundesliga counterparts on an agreement that would see 25-year-old Germany international Wollscheid switch for the rest of the season.

“It is a deal that is likely to happen and we are likely to see him here early next week I would suggest,” Hughes said last night.

“He has superb quality and in my opinion he is a very good footballer, so we are very pleased to have agreed the terms of the deal.

“He has moved for decent money in the past and he has played for the reigning world champions, so he has real good pedigree.”

Speaking more generally about transfer plans, Hughes added: “In terms of spending huge amounts of money, we don’t anticipate that is going to happen in January. We will just see what is out there. If something makes sense, and we think it will help, we will pursue it if we’ve got the means to.”