Stoke City believe they have won the race to sign Charlton Athletic midfielder Alfie Doughty ahead of rivals Bournemouth and QPR.
All three Championship club had bids of £650,000 accepted and were given permission to talk to the talented 21-year-old who is out of contract in the summer and had Rangers and Celtic keen to take him on a free at the end of the season.
However, Doughty is now understood to have chosen Stoke ahead of their rivals but, as part of the agreement, he will stay at Charlton on loan until the end of the season.