Stoke City 'open' to transfer offers for former Preston North End pair

Stoke City are reportedly entertaining offers for two of their former Preston North End stars.

A report from TEAMtalk says that the Potters are ‘open to offers’ for three of their players this month. Vice-captain Lewis Baker fronts up the trio who could leave the bet365 Stadium alongside Ben Pearson and Daniel Johnson.

Johnson is a surprise given he only joined Stoke in the summer having joined from North End on a free transfer. The 31-year-old has played 27 times this season and started 18 times for Stoke in the league.

The 18-time Jamaica international has two goals and two assists for Stoke, but since the appointment of Steven Schumacher, he has found himself amongst the substitutes. It is likely that he would remain at Stoke until the summer, but according to the report he could cost just under £1m.

Johnson joined from Aston Villa in January 2015 for a nominal fee and was part of the side which won promotion to League One in 2015. He spent eight years as a player in Lancashire and made 336 appearances in total for North End with 57 goals and 38 assists.

As for another PNE midfielder, Ben Pearson is attracting interest from several clubs. Pearson joined from AFC Bournemouth in the summer having been on loan for the second-half of the 2022/23 campaign. 

He joined for an undisclosed fee and this season has made 25 appearances in all competitions with one goal. He was absent against Ipswich Town on New Year’s Day and against Brighton in the FA Cup but has been nursing an injury. 

Pearson is contracted to Stoke until the summer of 2027, and the report from teamTALK says that it would cost between £3m to £4m to prize him away from Staffordshire this month.

He spent the majority of his career at North End, making 165 appearances after joining from Manchester United in 2016. He made 165 appearances with five assists and two goals, and was sold to AFC Bournemouth in January 2021.

Both he and Johnson could remain until the summer, however Stoke’s apparent desire to not stand in their way of two potential departures could speed up the process.