Former Barcelona attacker warned to stay away from club

Former Barcelona attacker Ibrahim Afellay has been warned to stay away from his current club Stoke City by manager Paul Lambert after his attitude and performances have been deemed to be harmful to The Potters' hopes of beating relegation from the Premier League. 

Afellay, now 31-years-old, is just one of several players that have made the switch to the Bet365 Stadium from a European giant in recent years, but the Dutch international appears to have played his last game for the club. 

Whilst the attacker will continue to be paid his £30,000 per week salary by Stoke City, The Sun reports that Afellay's agent has already started discussions with the club to terminate his client's contract at the end of the season. 

Afellay last played for Stoke on December 30th and currently has a year remaining on his contract with the club, however, manager Paul Lambert has taken the step to exile him from the club due to his attitude and performance during recent training sessions, according to reports today. 

He has scored just two goals during his 49 appearances for Stoke since arriving on a free transfer in 2015 from Barcelona, where he made just twenty-one appearances for the Nou Camp side and was loaned out on two occasions. 

Stoke City currently sit in nineteenth place in the Premier League, three points from safety as the end of the season approaches. The Potters will have a tough task avoiding relegation, particularly with their next two fixtures being against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.