Stoke Have £2.5 Million Bid For Beattie Accepted

  In a move coming largely out of the blue, the Potters have had a bid of £2.5 million accepted for Sheffield United’s former England international striker James Beattie. The 30 year old, who was loosely linked to Stoke a few weeks ago, was at the Britannia Stadium this afternoon discussing a contract, and talks are said to be in advanced stages. The deal was reported to have hit a slight snag though, meaning the transfer was not completed before the deadline which would have allowed Beattie to line up against Liverpool tomorrow.

 

Beattie celebrates a goal from his Southampton days and chases down the ball for the Blades.

  The deal, which looks likely to be completed on Monday is, in my opinion, a very good one for Stoke. When we were first linked with Beattie, the fee was rumoured to be around £5 million, so a sum of half that amount seems something of a bargain, particularly as he cost Sheffield United £4 million just two years ago. Despite his age, though he’s by no means old, he still knows where the goal is, finishing as Championship second top scorer last season with 22 goals. He is also very strong in the air, and has helped out Stoke in the past, scoring a comical own goal in our 3-0victory at Bramhall Lane just over a year ago. If he can find the net a few times during the second half of this season and it helps us to survival, the expenditure will be more than justified.

  There is some suggestion that a Stoke player will move in the other direction as part of the deal, which explains the low price, with Richard Cresswell or even record signing Dave Kitson being muted as likely candidates.

  Whatever the terms of the deal, should this transfer go through, which it looks like it should very soon, we are acquiring a proven goalscorer with Premier League experience and five England caps for a surprisingly low price, so, to use a cliche, it’s all good.

  One doubt cast by the move though hangs over the future of Ricardo Fuller, whose place at Stoke has been in jeopardy since he struck out at club captain Andy Griffin in the 2-1 loss to West Ham two weeks ago. Fuller has been linked with a move to Celtic and Beattie’sarrival may facilitate this. If this is the case I would be most disappointed. While fuller’s actions were inexcusable, and in an ideal world he would be sacked, we are in a fight for survival and need as many of our best players to stay performing for the club as we can, and Fuller is definitely one of those.

Beattie on one of his five England caps