Stoke keen to hear Jones’ offers

English Premiership club Stoke City is preparing to cash in on Soca Warriors striker and captain Kenwyne Jones. This after the English Daily Mail reported Stoke City manager Tony Pulis as saying he would listen to offers for Jones as he tried to slash the club’s wage bill. The influx of players since the  eight million-pound T&T striker joined Stoke two seasons ago is testing the club’s finances and already there seems to be no shortage of suitors as promoted Southampton, Russian big spenders Anzhi Makhachkala and Queen’s Park Rangers are interested. Jones is currently one of six strikers at the club including English duo, Peter Crouch and Cameron Jerome, Jamaica’s Ricardo Fuller, Jonathan Walters of Ireland and Mali’s Mamady Sidibe.

 

 

Only on Wednesday, Stoke City chairman Peter Coates told Pulis he needed to sell players before he could buy this summer as the club looked to improve on its 14th place league finish this season. Since winning promotion four years ago, City have spent close to 84 million pounds on transfer fees, while bringing in around 15 million pounds in sales. Coates said: “I think we will have to have some dealings. We can't keep pouring money in. “We have invested over the last five or six years and we are in the top few clubs in terms of net investment. We made a big investment and now we  expect trading to take place—ie some will come in and some will go out, and we have to generate enough for those coming in. “We need a balanced approach and will have to deal in the market, but that is only the same as every other club.”

 

 

The 27-year-old Jones, who has played his entire professional career in England, moved to Stoke from Sunderland two years ago on a four-year deal, but has only scored one goal in 21 Premier League appearances this season and 11 in overall. A move to Southampton will see Jones return to the club where he kicked off his career in England in 2002 after signing for an undisclosed fee from T&T Pro League club, W Connection. Jones enjoyed four seasons at Championship Division Southampton during which time he scored 22 goals in 80 appearances. During that time he also enjoyed loan spells at League One clubs, Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City, scoring seven and three goals from seven and 13 appearances respectively.