Stoke City remain big admirers of Fernando Forestieri with the Sky Bet Championship new boys keeping tabs on the Sheffield Wednesday playmaker.

According to the Sheffield Star, Wednesday are keen to trim their wage bill this summer, and although it remains unclear if they will entertain offers for Forestieri, Stoke are keen.

Gary Rowett is looking to reshape the squad he inherited at the bet365 Stadium, with Forestieri a player he is a big admirer of.

The 28-year-old Italian playmaker has been at Hillsborough since the summer of 2015, making 88 appearances for the Owls and scoring 32 goals.

Forestieri played a vital role in helping Sheffield Wednesday achieve back-to-back play-off appearances in 2016 and 2017, but missed the bulk of the 2017/18 campaign through injury, as the Owls struggled to 15th.

The Italian made 11 appearances across all competitions last year, including 10 in the Championship, which brought five goals for the forward.

Forestieri finished the season strongly, with four of those goals coming in his final five appearances of the campaign, as the Owls finally started to find their feet under Jos Luhukay.

The Verdict 

Forestieri is amongst the Championship’s top attacking players, and it is little surprise to hear that Stoke, who are looking make a major statement in the transfer window, are keen.

Of course, with Wednesday looking to trim their wage bill, they may be tempted to sell Forestieri, but the Italian is so important to them so a deal would seriously cost Stoke.

It’s impossible to guess where Wednesday stand with this, and until Stoke make an offer, it’ll be hard to judge the South Yorkshire outfit.

Would Wednesday sell Forestieri? Let us know your thoughts!