Stoke City have made an official approach to speak to Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill over the vacant manager position at the Bet365 Stadium, according to Sky Sports News.

Stoke are searching for a new boss after parting company with Nathan Jones last week, following a disastrous start to the season in the Championship.

The Potters are bottom of the Championship table, six points from safety, and have picked up just two wins from their opening 15 matches.

The club are now under pressure to appoint a new manager as soon as possible, after they were unsuccessful in their attempts to lure Preston North End boss Alex Neil away from Deepdale.

According to Sky Sports News, the board have now turned their attention to Northern Ireland boss O'Neill, who admitted yesterday that he is flattered by the club's reported interest in him.

O'Neill has been the Northern Ireland manager since 2011 and has never managed in the Championship before.

Lee Bowyer, Tony Pulis and Chris Hughton are also thought to be among the candidates for the job, but it seems as though Stoke now have their sights set on O'Neill.

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The Verdict

This is a very interesting development. You can't really question Stoke's decision to part company with Jones in the end, but they've put themselves under huge pressure to get this next appointment right.

O'Neill is a good manager and he's done a great job with Northern Ireland, so he could be a good appointment for Stoke and he should be experienced enough to adapt to the challenges that come with managing in the Championship.

Despite the position the club are in at the moment, Stoke are a big club and they've got some very talented players in their squad.

With that in mind, there's every chance that O'Neill could be tempted by the chance to take charge of Stoke, so it'll be interesting to see if he's prepared to leave Northern Ireland.