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Stoke in for Clark

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Stoke City are plotting a move for Newcastle United defender Ciaran Clark, according to Football Insider.

The reputable football outlet claim that the Midlands-based Championship side are in the market for another central defender after captain Ryan Shawcross broke his leg in a friendly against Leicester City last week.

Football Insider report that Stoke boss Nathan Jones is set to rival fellow Championship side Bristol City and Crystal Palace for the Irish international.

Crystal Palace were recently reported by the Sun to have been plotting a £5million move for the 29-year-old, but that Roy Hodgson was deliberating over a potential loan offer instead.

OPINION

With the way Newcastle’s defence is shaping up at this moment in time, it would come as a real surprise to see Steve Bruce sanction a possible exit for the experienced centre half. Florian Lejeune is currently recovering from a reoccurring injury suffered towards the end of last season, and Paul Dummett could be required to shift to left-back, his more natural position. Should that happen, Clark would be the third-choice defender in the heart of defence behind Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar. Bruce could stick with the five-at-the-back formation employed by Rafael Benitez last season, and if he does, there is no doubting that Clark will be an essential part of that next season – especially at the beginning of the campaign. Having said that, the 29-year-old only managed to make 12 appearances last season, nine of those being starts – proving that when players such as Lejeune are fit he will fall down the pecking order. Should Bruce complete a move for another defender in the last couple of weeks of the transfer window, Clark would surely be the first to be shown the exit door.

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