Stoke City are interested in signing Celtic winger Jonny Hayes in the January transfer window, according to a report by TEAMtalk.

Hayes has been an important player for Celtic so far this season and has scored two goals in 16 appearances for the club in all competitions.

The 32-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season, but Celtic boss Neil Lennon is hoping to get him tied down to a new deal.

However, Hayes is keen to keep his options open, which could open the door for Stoke - who are considering offering the player a pre-contract in January.

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Burnley and Huddersfield Town are also understood to be keeping tabs on the player, while Cardiff City have been long-term admirers of him.

Stoke have made a poor start to the season in the Championship and new manager Michael O'Neill is keen to strengthen his squad in the January transfer window, after taking charge at the Bet365 Stadium earlier this month.

The Verdict

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Hayes is a decent player and he's done reasonably well for Celtic over the past couple of seasons, but he hasn't scored that many goals and I'm not convinced he'd be a good signing for Stoke.

O'Neill is obviously looking to strengthen his squad in January and that's fair enough, but there are surely better options out there than Hayes.

He's done well in Scotland over the past few years, but he's got hardly any experience in the Championship, so I think Stoke would be taking a risk by signing him and I think they'd be better of strengthening in other areas as well.

Thoughts? Lets us know in the comments below.