Hull City slammed over "joke" Stoke City transfer offer - "I'd be wanting at least £15m" | OneFootball

FLW's Stoke City fan pundit has revealed they would want at least £15 million to part ways with Sorba Thomas this summer

With less than a week to go until the summer transfer window slams shut for another year, Stoke City will be hoping to complete some more crucial business, as well as hold on to their star assets, including Sorba Thomas.

Though Stoke have added seven fresh faces to the mix this summer, there remains room for improvement for the Potters across the board, including in the final third.

George Hirst's arrival from Ipswich Town remains the Potters' only attacking addition at this stage, whilst each of Ethan Galbraith, Svante Ingelsson, and Djibril Soumare have reinforced the midfield, Ben Johnson and Luke Graham bolstering the defence, and Joshua Griffiths providing Viktor Johansson with competition between the sticks.

However, each of Bae Jun-Ho, Robert Bozenik, and, most recently, Sorba Thomas have been linked with moves away, leaving just Ato Ampah (who has yet to make his Stoke debut), Sam Gallagher, Million Manhoef and Lamine Cisse as the only other options in that area of the pitch for Mark Robins to pick from.

Thomas' prospective departure, in particular, would be more damning than most, with the 27-year-old having recently been the subject of a rejected bid from a Premier League outfit.

Hull City have seen a bid worth £7 million knocked back by Stoke City for Sorba Thomas

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As first reported by Alan Nixon via his Patreon, Hull City have identified Stoke's Thomas as a target in the latter stages of the window, with Sky Sports' Rob Dorsett shortly after that the Tigers had seen a bid worth around £7 million rejected by the North Staffordshire outfit.

Thomas directly contributed to 21 goals in the Championship last season for Stoke, over 40 per cent of the club's total league goals across the campaign, with his presence in the side ultimately pivotal to Mark Robins' side avoiding the drop to League One in the end.

Stoke paid less than £2 million for the winger from Huddersfield Town last summer, and though Hull's offer would represent a big profit for the Potters, their bid has fallen well short of their valuation.

The Yorkshire Post have reported that Hull are currently unwilling to meet Stoke's asking price for Thomas, putting a potential deal in doubt, as it remains unclear at this stage whether the Tigers will return with an improved bid or not.

Stoke City should be demanding at least £15 million for Sorba Thomas this summer

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Football League World's Stoke fan pundit, Ryan Beresford, has shared their thoughts on Hull's £7 million bid being rejected for Thomas, and how much they would expect to part ways with the Welshman this late into the window.

Ryan told FLW: "I can see him being sold, but £7 million is a joke in this market, in this era, to be honest, for a player who performed exceptionally well in this poor Stoke team.

"I would be wanting at least £15 million. Our best player last season obviously hasn't done very well at the moment, maybe because he knew about interest.

"But if he wants to go to the Premier League, we can't stop him, but it's got to be good value. It's got to be good money.

"We can't let him go, because it's going to be hard to find a replacement like that."

Mark Robins would have a near-impossible task replacing Sorba Thomas at Stoke City after taking a firm stance amid Hull City bid

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Stoke have stood firm in their valuation of Thomas amid Hull's bid for the Welsh international.

The Potters have not been a good selling club over the years, rarely making any sort of profit on their investment, with Marko Arnautović being the main exception during the Coates' reign.

Had Hull come in with that bid earlier in the window, it almost certainly would also have been rejected, but given how late it is in the window, Stoke will have driven up their asking price for the winger, with finding a direct replacement incredibly difficult at this stage.