Stoke City are hoping to return to Aston Villa with a second bid for defender James Chester, according to the Daily Mail, via a report by Sports Mole.

The Potters bid £5m for Chester at the beginning of the weekend but saw that offer flatly refused by the Villans, however, it appears now that manager Gary Rowett is to return with a second bid, with a fee of around £7m being banded about.

Chester has played a key role for the Villa over the last few seasons and was one of the club's players of the season last year alongside John Terry.

However, Villa are in dire needs off the field and are required to sell some of their key men this summer, and Chester is one of a host of players who is expected to attract plenty of attention in the coming weeks.

The Welsh international has been in impressive form ever since completing a £9m move to the club from rivals West Brom.

Manager Steve Bruce will be desperate to hold onto his key man as he looks to mount a promotion challenge for the club. But, with Stoke armed with funds following the sale of Xherdan Shaqiri, it could prove a mammoth task to reject advances for their star defender.

Stoke and Villa fans, what do we think? How much is Chester worth? Let us know in the comments!