Stoke City have rejected a bid from Aston Villa for Glenn Whelan – and fans on Twitter are not pleased with the calibre of player Steve Bruce is targeting.
Sky Sports reported on Friday that the Championship club have seen a bid in the region of £500,000 rejected for the 33-year-old Premier League player.
Manager Bruce is yet to add any players to his squad ahead of the 2017/18 Championship campaign, where Villa are one of the favourites to earn promotion.
Since their relegation from the Premier League in 2016, the Midlands outfit have spent a lot of money on transfers, particularly in the striker department.
Despite that, they were unable to mount a viable promotion challenge during the recently concluded campaign, which resulted in them finishing in the bottom half of the table.
When the news about the interest in Whelan broke, it is fair to say that a number of Villa supporters were not pleased with who Bruce is looking to sign.
One supporter thought they would get their former player Gareth Barry back at the club but instead, they make a move for Whelan.
Other fans were “underwhelmed” by the potential signing because they feel Villa need fresher and younger legs in the middle of the park.
Australia international Mile Jedinak is expected to be a key player for Bruce next season, sitting in front of the back four, with the likes of Henri Lansbury, Gary Gardner and Conor Hourihane partnering him in the middle of the park.
This is Futbol has rounded up some of the best tweets:
Remember when we thought we might get Gareth Barry back? Instead we move for Glenn Whelan ?? #AVFC
— Glenn Morris (@GlennMorris_) June 10, 2017
Whelan very very bad according to stoke fans #avfc
— . (@AVLNYK) June 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/norvillan/status/873268628795400193
https://twitter.com/norvillan/status/873263875864571904
Underwhelmed by talk of 33 yr old Glenn Whelan to #avfc – have our experience CDM in Mile. Need younger back up IMO
— Andy Jackson (@Jacko_AV) June 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/Goobledygook29/status/873221992203374592
https://twitter.com/MrNicoMole/status/873209488618250241
Republic of Ireland international Whelan has one year left on his current deal at the Bet 365 Stadium and he was a key figure for Mark Hughes’ side during the 2016/17 league season.