Patience pays off in Pennant deal

Tony Pulis says it was important Stoke waited “until the last minute” before completing the signing of Jermaine Pennant so as to ensure that the price of the deal was right.

The Potters yesterday announced that Pennant had put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year contract, just as his loan from Spanish side Real Zaragoza, which had started in August, was coming to an end.