Stoke City chairman John Rudge has confirmed that he is in the market to bring in a few defenders this summer. The Stoke boss has confirmed that he is worried with his current makeshift defence and needs to add a few extra stars to his side.

"We obviously want to add to the players we've already got by bringing in people who have Premier League experience," explained Rudge to The Sentinel.

"We are looking at all positions, but obviously the spine of the team is an area that must be strong and we do only have two centre-backs at present.

"Ryan Shawcross and Leon Cort have done exceptionally well for us, in both boxes, but Ryan is still very young and Leon hasn't played at the top level either."