Stoke City set to complete Man United transfer agreement | OneFootball

Ruben Curley is undergoing a medical with the Potters

Stoke City are reportedly set to seal the signing of young Manchester United midfielder Ruben Curley, with the 19-year-old undergoing a medical ahead of a permanent move to the bet365 Stadium, despite previous reports that the deal was off yesterday.

The Potters transfer business has ramped up as the deadline edges ever closer, as they are yet to make a permanent signing in the winter window, with Ali Al-Hamadi and Josh Wilson-Esbrand each joining on loan deals from Ipswich Town and Manchester City.

Stoke boss Mark Robins has ties to the Red Devils, after featuring over 50 times for them as a player between 1988 and 1992, and now looks set to raid his former employers for one of their young talents before the 11pm deadline passes.

Curley is yet to play for United's senior team in his short career so far, but has been a regular for their under-21 and under-18 sides over the last few years, and now looks set to move to North Staffordshire in the hope of taking his first steps into senior football.

Stoke set to land Ruben Curley on a permanent deal after previous approach was rejected

The Potters were said to have approached United over a move for Curley on Sunday evening, according to Football Insider, but the Red Devils had knocked back their bid to land the 19-year-old and wanted him to stay at Old Trafford for the remainder of the campaign.

Despite those reports, Football Insider's Pete O'Rourke has now claimed that the United youth product is set to join Stoke on a permanent deal, and is currently undergoing a medical after the move was resurrected.

It is unclear what has changed in the hours since the Potters' first approach was knocked back, or if Wouter Burger's potential exit has affected any dealings, but regardless, they are due to land their man as boss Robins aims to bolster his midfield depth in the dying embers of the window.

Curley will have to adapt quickly if he is to be thrust into Championship action

Stoke are in the midst of a real battle at the bottom of the Championship table right now, and they already have a relatively young squad that lacks experience and guile, so adding a player like Curley to that pool of options does seem a strange move right now.

There is no doubt that the 19-year-old is a highly-rated player, given that he has come through the Red Devils' academy to under-21 level and they seemingly want to keep him around until his contract is up in the summer, but Stoke cannot afford to carry any more young players through their development in the next few months, so he will need to get up to speed as soon as possible if he is going to be a first-team option under Robins.

Stoke have been dealing with somewhat of a midfield crisis in recent months, with Ben Pearson and Bosun Lawal both long-term absentees and Sol Sidibe and Jordan Thompson each picking up serious injuries in weeks past, but those two formerly-mentioned players are now back fit and nearly ready for selection to join the likes of Burger, Tatsuki Seko, Andrew Moran and Lewis Baker as options in the middle of the park.

Whether one of those players is set to make a late departure remains to be seen, but even so, Curley will surely find it tough to gain valuable game-time this season if he makes the late move to ST4.