Stoke City vs Swansea City preview - Hughes warns Man Utd off Shawcross

Posted Saturday, October 18, 2014 by PA

Stoke boss Mark Hughes has issued a 'hands off' warning for Potters captain Ryan Shawcross amid reports of interest from the centre-back's former club Manchester United.

There has been talk this week that United, whose youth set-up Shawcross was part of before he moved to the Britannia Stadium in 2007-08, have been looking at the 27-year-old as a potential January transfer window signing.

But speaking at his press conference to preview Sunday's home Barclays Premier League clash with Swansea, Hughes said: "I'm not sure where that originated from - I think somebody told me it might have come from America at some point.

"There's been no contact and I don't expect there to be any, and we wouldn't encourage any contact anyway.

"Ryan is very settled here, he is the captain of the club and we have no intention of allowing him to leave.

"He's a big part of what we want to do in the future."

Another Stoke player who has been in the news this week is Peter Crouch, with the 33-year-old striker expressing his desire to extend his stay with the club beyond the end of his current deal next summer.

Crouch, who like Shawcross has been left out of the England set-up for some time, has scored three goals so far this term.

And Hughes is keen to keep the tall frontman.

When asked about how discussions were going on that front, the manager said: "We spoke briefly.

"I think Peter is one of those players who is quite unique in what he offers, so you can see the attraction that other clubs maybe have in terms of bringing him to them.

"We value Peter and we would certainly like him to stay if we can come to some agreement because he does give us a different type of threat and one that opponents find really difficult to cope with."

Hughes expects forwards Victor Moses and Mame Biram Diouf to be back available for Sunday's match but also has fresh injury concerns.

Moses, who came off in the 3-1 loss at Sunderland on October 4 due to a thigh problem, and Diouf, absent from the game because of a hamstring complaint, have both trained for the last couple of days.

However, midfielder Glenn Whelan looks set to miss out having picked up a knee issue playing for the Republic of Ireland, forward Marko Arnautovic will have to shake off a hip injury sustained on Austria duty if he is to feature, and defender Robert Huth is a doubt with a calf problem.

Swansea boss Garry Monk says his players will need to be brave if they are to beat Stoke at the Britannia Stadium for the first time in the Premier League.

Monk's side have enjoyed an excellent start to the campaign and currently sit fifth in the table, level on points with Manchester United.

The Swans' momentum has, however, slowed in recent weeks with the team winless in their last four league matches.

"Stoke is never an easy place to go and we know we have never won there in the Premier League," Monk told Swansea's official club website.

"However, we should have won the last time we played there in February, so hopefully we can repeat that performance and get the victory.

"They (Stoke) try and play football but they still have that direct aspect of their game, which makes them dangerous.

"We have to go there with belief and impose ourselves on the game."

Swansea will be looking to get back to winning ways as soon as possible, having recorded consecutive draws against Newcastle and Sunderland.

The international break has given Monk and his squad time to reflect on their season so far and the Swans boss says his team will be raring to go come Sunday.

"It's the same for every team but we will give the players all the information they need in order to be ready for Sunday's game," Monk added.

"It's difficult when half the squad is away, but we have still had a lot of players who have featured in the first team on a regular basis so we've managed to do plenty of offensive and defensive work."