TRANSFER UPDATE: The BBC reports this morning that Stoke City has formally announced the departure of another fantastic forward, who will cost £30.7 million, to Ipswich Town.

Stoke City man to reject contract offer and join EFL side instead

Stoke City defender David Okagbue is poised to join Walsall on a permanent basis, according to Football Insider.

Stoke City have offered the youngster a new deal this summer but he is set to turn it down and sign for Walsall instead. He spent last season on loan with the Saddlers and was a hit with the League Two side.

Okagbue, 20, saw his contract at the Bet365 Stadium expire at the end of last month and is now free to join another team for nothing. He has been on the books of the Potters since joining them as a teenager back in 2020.

In this latest update regarding his future by Football Insider, he is expected to rebuff Steven Schumacher’s attempts to keep him in Staffordshire ahead of the 2024/25 and switch to the Saddlers full-time instead. He made 35 appearances for them last term in all competitions, 30 of which came in the league.

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Nathan Heaney will be backed by an army of Stoke City supporters as he locks horns with Brad Pauls again this month

Nathan Heaney is sure he knows what he needs to do to win his re-match with Brad Pauls and get back on course for a shot at the world title.

The undefeated Hitman knows he would have been fighting for the big belt at the home of Stoke City this summer if judges hadn’t declared a draw in his middleweight British title defence against Pauls in March.

But he is deep into preparation to take on Pauls again at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham and on TNT Sports on Saturday, July 20 and he has been working with trainer Steve Woodvine to make sure that this time there is no dispute about the winner.

READ MORE: bet365 Stadium boxing licence as Nathan Heaney fight step closer

READ MORE: Nathan Heaney’s rise to British champion

“I’m feeling it at this moment in time,” he said. “The work I put in we take up a notch every single time and this one feels even more important. As far as I’m concerned I should have been the winner in the last fight but he did get past me in a couple of rounds and it allowed, for some reason, the judges to award the draw. So I can’t switch off at all now. I’m so focussed on what I need to do and me and Steve are working hard as we always do.