Stoke City pair pen new deals

Stoke City striker Peter Crouch and midfielder Glenn Whelan have put pen-to-paper on new two-year deals with the Britannia Stadium outfit.

The duo were in the final year of their previous deals and would have been out of contract and available on free transfers at the end of the season.

Speculation has been growing over the course of January that Crouch may be on his way out with QPR understood to be interested.

However, Bojan Krkic suffered a season-ending injury in the victory over Rochdale in the FA Cup on Monday night and the Potters have been left light in attack.

Crouch remains the club’s record signing, having joined from Tottenham in 2011 for a fee of £10million.

The former Liverpool and Portsmouth man has scored 37 times in 140 appearances in all competitions for the Staffordshire outfit.

Whelan has been at the club since 2008 when he made the move from Sheffield Wednesday, helping them to climb up into the Premier League under Tony Pulis.

The Republic of Ireland international has proven his versatility and can play in midfield and defence, making almost 250 appearances overall.

Mark Hughes admitted that it was nice to have both players commit their futures to Stoke, adding that he hopes they can continue to play at a high standard.

Hughes said: “They are both fantastic professionals who had contributed a great deal to Stoke City long before I joined the club and have continued to do so.”

Stoke host QPR on Saturday and can be backed at 1.67 to win, while Harry Redknapp’s side are available at 5.51 to take all three points.