Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill has agreed a deal to become the next manager of Stoke City, according to The Athletic.

Stoke have been searching for a new manager since parting company with Nathan Jones last week, following a poor start to the season in the Championship - which has seen the team pick up just two wins from their opening 15 league games.

It was reported earlier today that Stoke have made an official approach to the Irish Football Association to speak to O'Neill, who has been in charge of Northern Ireland for eight years.

The Athletic now claim that although there is still some negotiating to be done regarding a six-figure compensation fee, O'Neill has agreed a four-year contract with Stoke.

O'Neill has been told he will be given the funds to strengthen his squad in the January transfer window and he will be at Oakwell for Stoke's bottom-of-the-table clash with Barnsley at the weekend.

He will then take charge of Northern Ireland's two remaining Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Netherlands and Germany later this month.

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The Verdict

This could be a good appointment for Stoke. O'Neill is a good manager and even though he's never managed in the Championship before, he should be experienced enough to adapt to the challenges that come with taking charge of a club at that level.

He's done a brilliant job with Northern Ireland and may be able to get the best out of a group of players who have massively underachieved in the Championship this season and are severely lacking in confidence at the moment.

Stoke seem to be in a bit of a downward spiral at the moment and if O'Neill does take charge, it'll be very interesting to see if he can turn things around and help the club get their season back on track.