Stoke City and Millwall are both interested in signing Fleetwood Town midfielder Jay Matete ahead of the summer transfer window, a report from a print edition of The Sun (02/05, p61) has claimed.

Matete has previously made 16 senior appearances for Fleetwood, and has spent the second half of this season on loan with Grimsby.

The midfielder has scored three goals in 20 games for the Marriners, but has been unable to help prevent them suffering relegation from League Two this season.

Despite that, it still seems as though Matete is starting to attract attention from further up the football pyramid.

According to this latest update, Stoke are leading Millwall in the battle to sign the 20-year-old, with both clubs having taken an interest in Matete this season.

It has been suggested that the midfielder could be available for a fee of around £800,000, and there is just over a year remaining on his current contract with Fleetwood, although the League One club do have the option to extend that deal by a further 12 months.

The Verdict

This is certainly an interesting one for the likes of Stoke and Millwall to consider here.

Obviously that sort of fee does feel like a lot to spend on a player who has just suffered relegation from League Two, especially in a financial climate such as this.

However, it does still seem as though Matete does possess a fair amount of potential, something that could be able to come to the fore if he is playing in a stronger side.

As a result, this may be one that is still worth looking into, and you do feel as though the chance to step up a level means this is the sort of move that could be of interest to the midfielder himself.