Michael O'Neill has suggested that Stoke City are still very much interested in bringing Josh Maja and Romaine Sawyers back to the Bet 365 Stadium this summer, in conversation with Stoke on Trent Live.
Maja, who is expected to leave parent club Bordeaux this summer following their relegation to the French third tier, is also being monitored by Cardiff City and teams in Belgium.
The 23-year-old proved he was able to impress in the Championship last time out, during half a season with the Potters.
Sawyers will be available on a free transfer this summer, with the midfielder being released by West Brom.
Sawyers proved to be a regular during his season-long loan with the Baggies, featuring 29 times in all competitions.
Speaking about the pair whilst in conversation with Stoke on Trent Live, Potters boss Michael O'Neill said: “There is always opinion about how players have done during their period at the club when you bring a loan player in. The benefit of doing it is that you know the individual and that gives us comfort, I think, if we were to do that.
“But we’re not in a situation where we’re able to do that just at the minute.
“We have to look at the situation around players leaving before we can determine what level we can add, which is going to be driven by finance, and what type of player we need at that point in time.
“So both players are very much in our thoughts but at this minute in time we’re probably not in a position to say they’re going to be in the building next week.”
The verdict
Both Maja and Sawyers impressed during their loan stints with the Potters last season, making it no real surprise that they have emerged interested ahead of the new campaign.
They are also moves that would make sense financially too, with Bordeaux unlikely to demand too high of a transfer fee given their financial situation, whilst Sawyers will be available for free.
Given the ability that the pair possess, they are likely to be players that are on several radars this summer, meaning that they are unlikely to be easy deals to complete.
However, when considering their temporary spells last season, this could emerge as an advantage for the Staffordshire club.