Stoke City are locked in negotiations with experienced goalkeeper Frank Fielding regarding a potential contract extension, according to manager Michael O'Neill who confirmed these talks as he spoke to Stoke-on-Trent Live.

This news comes following Adam Davies' imminent move to Championship rivals Sheffield United, with the Blades currently in need of recruiting another shot-stopper after Michael Verrips and Robin Olsen's departures this month.

As per the Sheffield Star, Wales international Davies expressed his desire to move to Bramall Lane and with that, the Potters have seemingly struck an agreement with the Blades for the 29-year-old who is now on the verge of completing his move.

Fielding has been much less of a regular than Davies for O'Neill's men, failing to make a single appearance for them since his arrival at the bet365 Stadium in December and only appearing on the bench for the first time in last weekend's defeat against automatic promotion contenders Fulham.

The 33-year-old has also been linked with a move to Sheffield United this month, but the departure of his teammate to South Yorkshire looks set to leave just him and Jack Bonham as available options in the second-tier side's goalkeeping department.

Josef Bursik is set to return at some point - but the England youth international may take some time to get back to full fitness after suffering a severe quad injury whilst on international duty back in November.

O'Neill has confirmed that they will be looking to keep Fielding as another option following the Davies news, saying: "Frankie is under contract until the end of January so we’re in discussions with Frankie about an extension. We’ve got Blondy Nna Noukeu back from his loan at Crawley as well so I think we’re well covered.

"I like the make-up of the goalkeeping department. I think there is a lot of potential in it as well as quality and it’s very cost-effective."

The Verdict:

This is probably a good financial move for Stoke who won't have to go through the process of forking out a potential loan fee, as well as agent costs and signing on fees which can be a problem even when approaching out-of-contract players.

As O'Neill said, retaining Fielding is cost-effective and they may be able to utilise the money gained from Davies' sale to invest elsewhere, although it wouldn't make sense to strengthen their goalkeeping department with Bursik, Noukeu, Bonham and potentially Fielding available as options when all are fit and ready to play.

Bonham and Fielding are already more than good enough to step up and be Bursik's understudy when he returns, although you would have to say remaining in Staffordshire may not be the best career move for the latter if he wants more playing time.

At 33 and as a shot-stopper, he still has at least a few more years left in the tank if he wanted to be a first-choice player at an EFL club, although it remains to be seen whether he would get a Championship move if that was his wish.

But if he wants to focus more on coaching and helping younger players in his position, then remaining at his current side makes sense.