Tony Pulis

The manager has seen his side lose their first three games in the Premier League, the latest of them coming in a 2-0 defeat to defending champions Chelsea.

Stoke (40/1 to finish in the top six) were resolute and dogged throughout that game, but Pulis knows he needs to improve his squad if the club are to climb the Premier League table this season.

Pulis spent big money bringing Kenwyne Jones to the club before the start of the campaign and he has been linked with a host of transfer targets throughout the summer.

He is being linked with the likes of Jermaine Jenas, Hugo Rodallega and Eidur Gudjohnsen in the national press and the manager has admitted there are likely to be a few last-minute deals going through before the transfer window closes at 6pm on Tuesday.

“We’re hoping to get four or five players in by Tuesday and there will be players leaving as well,” said Pulis.

“It may go to the wire but we are prepared to wait and ensure we get the right deals.

“We want to bring in some younger players, some players who will improve the group. That is important.”

The manager will be hoping that he can have some new faces at his disposal when Stoke take on Aston Villa in their next Premier League game on September 13th.

One of the faces who could be on his way out of the Britannia Stadium is Bosnian goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

The player was only signed from Portsmouth in January but has now caused controversy after he refused to play for Stoke in the Carling Cup (Stoke 40/1 to win Carling Cup) win over Shrewsbury.

Stoke chairman Peter Coates has admitted that Premier League champions Chelsea (6/5 to win the title this season) made a £4.5 million offer for Begovic that was rejected by the club.

He added that he is “not expecting” the west London side to come back with a bigger offer, but it could tempt Stoke to cash in on the 23-year-old if that did happen.

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