Stoke City are waiting to see if Aston Villa up their bid for Glenn Whelan before deciding where his future lies, according to a Birmingham Mail report.
The newspaper claims Villa are yet to follow up on their initial £500,000 offer for the 33-year-old central midfielder, because they need to offload some dead-weight from their squad in order to fund the move.
It is said the Potters are ready to let Whelan go this summer, as he only has one year remaining on his current deal, and they have already brought in Darren Fletcher from West Brom to replace him.
The report states Derby manager Gary Rowett may also look to sign the Irishman to fill Will Hughes’ shoes, who looks set to sign for Watford.
This comes after the Mirror claimed on its transfer live blog earlier this month that the Potters want “at least” £1million for Whelan.
Whelan was a mainstay in Stoke’s engine room last term, playing 31 league and cup games, helping the side to a 13th-place finish in the Premier League.
He signed for the Potters in January 2008 from Sheffield Wednesday, and he has since amassed 276 Premier League appearances for the club.
The 33-year-old has been capped by the Republic of Ireland 81 occasions, and he captained the side in the 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw with Austria earlier this month.