Stoke Linked With Nikola Žigić

  The Potters are rumoured to be interested in signing 6’7″ Serbian striker Nikola Žigić after his club Valencia have made it clear that they will listen to any offers for the player, with a fee of £8 million deemed an acceptable value. Žigić, 27, who has been capped 29 times by Serbia, scoring 11 goals has only made 14 appearances for Valencia since joining from Racing Santander in 2007, scoring seven times.

  It was at Santander that he enjoyed his best spell of recent years, scoring 19 times in 32 appearances in the 2006/07 season. Žigić established himself as a top quality goalscorer at Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) in is home country, scoring 71 times in 110 matches since joining from Spartak Subotica in 2003, where his goalscoring record was better than one a game. He has also been Serbian player of the year three times, in 2003, 2005 and 2006.

  The signing of Žigić would be fantastic for Stoke, however, we reportedly face competition from fellow Premier League sides Aston Villa and Sunderland and Sicilian club Palermo. Žigić has already turned down a move to Turkish giants Galatasary.