Stoke City are closing in on the loan signing of right-back Harry Clarke from Arsenal.

The 21-year-old has understandably found it hard to get game time at the Emirates, so he has gone out on various loan spells in the past few years to get experience.

After stints with Oldham and Ross County, Clarke spent the second half of the previous campaign with Hibs, where he scored once and registered two assists in seven appearances.

During his time at Easter Road, the youngster was watched by Michael O'Neill and it appears he did enough to convince the Potters boss to make a move.

That's because Stoke-On-Trent Live have revealed that Clarke is firmly on the radar of the Staffordshire outfit and there is a confidence they will be able to bring the player to the Bet365 Stadium.

Strengthening that area of the pitch was always going to be a priority for Stoke in the summer window after the decision was made to allow Tommy Smith to leave the club following his contract expiring.

The verdict

This seems like a smart move from Stoke as Clarke is an exciting talent who has the energy and attacking quality that you need as a wing-back.

Getting first-team experience in the past few years will have served him well and a move to Stoke would be a great opportunity for the player to show what he can do in a very tough league.

So, this seems to suit all parties and it wouldn't be a surprise if this one got sorted in the coming weeks.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.