Wifried Bony to Shanghai SIPG: Ivorian weighing up a £12million-a-year offer from Chinese Super League club in January – but Stoke want to keep him
WILFRIED BONY is weighing up a stunning £12million-a-year offer to move to China.
The Manchester City striker, on loan at Stoke, could be the next big name to leave for the Far East following Oscar’s departure from Chelsea.
Brazil star Oscar is set to trouser £20m a season to move to Shanghai SIPG and Bony will also be given the chance to bolster his earnings.
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Stoke manager Mark Hughes revealed that the Ivory Coast star has a clause in his contract allowing him to be sold to Chinese Super League clubs in January.
Hughes side do not have a set fee agreed with City to sign him on a permanent basis as part of the loan deal.
And that leaves the door open for a mega-bucks move to China after three-and-a-half years in the Premier League.
Mark Hughes on January transfers
Hughes said on Friday: “We are constantly looking at opportunities and I am sure we will be getting calls in January. It isn’t an easy window to navigate, I have said that before.
“You can do good work in January and not get a player over the line but it helps out in the summer. That happened with Xherdan Shaqiri a couple of years ago.
“There is money there and if a player becomes available who we feel will help us then I am sure we will be able to get it done. We want players who will make a major impact straight away rather than squad players.”
And Hughes has also reiterated the Potters will not be held to ransom by Derby over Lee Grant.
The manager told a press conference: “We would like to get something done, but they are asking for too much money. We have a fee we feel he is worth – a market value – and we aren’t going to be held to ransom.
“If it doesn’t change soon then we will have to look at other options.”