Stoke and QPR battle for Joey Barton deal

Joey Barton has some big decisions to make this weekend, as Stoke City have made an offer for the Newcastle midfielder as well as Queens Park Rangers. According to reports, Barton has already had a medical at Loftus Road and is due in Stoke for a medical either today or this weekend.

Barton had been told only two weeks ago that he is free to leave Newcastle on a free transfer, after a number of high profile comments on Twitter about the Newcastle board.

Alan Pardew then gave Barton a glimmer of hope as he played the midfielder against Arsenal in the Premier League opener two weeks ago.

However, it appears that Barton has still been told he can leave the club, and a deal is expected to go through before the end of the transfer window.