Defender is expected to be a wanted man as his contract runs out

Derby County are believed to have opened talks with Stoke City-linked Lincoln defender Paudie O’Connor.

The 27-year-old centre-back is out of contract next month after three seasons establishing himself as a leading player in League One and he does not seem short of potential suitors.

It is claimed that Wycombe Wanderers, who lost the League One play-off final, are in pole position to make the signing but they are not the only club in the running.

Huddersfield Town and Barnsley have also been linked, along with several Championship clubs including Stoke, Blackburn, Oxford, Preston and Derby, with the latter needing a replacement for Nat Phillips, who spent a year on loan from Liverpool, and now stepping up their O’Connor interest.

John Eustace currently has Matt Clarke, Sondre Langas, Jake Rooney and Curtis Nelson in his centre-half stable and has also been credited with interest in Birmingham’s Dion Sanderson.

At Stoke, Mark Robins has seen Ashley Phillips return to Tottenham Hotspur after a loan deal while Michael Rose has been released. They have Ben Wilmot, Ben Gibson and versatile Bosun Lawal in that position, as well as prospects including Jaden Dixon and Freddie Anderson. There are Championship free agents who are believed to be on Robins’ radar.

O’Connor joined Leeds United from Limerick in 2017 and kickstarted his career at Bradford before joining Lincoln in 2022. He has since made 141 appearances, established himself as captain and been offered a fresh deal by Michael Skubula.

The summer transfer window is open until 7pm tonight and then re-opens on June 16 due to a pause for the Club World Cup.

Stoke City are at the start of what is guaranteed to be a busy summer transfer window

Stoke City are braced to have their resolve tested to keep key assets including Million Manhoef, Bae Junho and Wouter Burger this summer – but, as it stands, Viktor Johansson looks like he will stay.

Stoke will have to wheel and deal to a certain extent in the transfer window as they operate in a three-year rolling financial fair play cycle that still includes Alex Neil and Ricky Martin’s unprecedented shopping spree from 2023.

Interest is expected from Europe in Manhoef and Junho and it remains to be seen what kind of offer would tempt Jon Walters and Mark Robins to the negotiating table.

But Financial Fair Play challenges or not, they showed they do not have their backs against the wall by turning down a January offer for Burger from FC Midtjylland. Burger went on to find his best form of the season and Stoke would be prepared to reject bids again unless a deal was in their interest.

Player of the year Johansson, aged 26, is believed to be very happy at Stoke, having joined from Rotherham United 12 months ago. He captained the team for most of the campaign post-Christmas and his displays gave him the chance to stake his claim as Sweden number one.

It is only the start of a long window and things can change but indications at the moment suggest Robins can plan with him for next season.

Physicality and availability will be two major boxes as they weigh up who comes in or goes out and, as well as being star man, Johansson was the first Stoke player since Asmir Begovic in 2012/13 to play in every minute of a league season.

Right winger Manhoef, aged 23, has admirers and scouts will be watching the European under-21s Championship in Slovakia next month when he hopes he can help the Netherlands regain the title they won in both 2006 and 2007.

He joined Stoke from Vitesse Arnhem in January 2024 for about £3m, is under contract until 2027 and there have already been reports of interest from Celtic. His first full season in the Championship was affected by injury and he spent two months in the treatment room in the winter due to a knee problem. He ended up scoring seven times, including five in the league.

Junho, aged 21, wasn’t able to build on his 2024 player of the year award as much but Stoke have had four managers in his first couple of campaigns in England and seemed affected by a bad tooth infection during the winter.

The playmaker, signed for Stoke from Daejeon Hana Citizen in August 2023 for about £2m, only scored three times this term but he has kept himself in the South Korea senior squad and has potential to tap. He is also under contract until 2027.

Burger reignited his time at Stoke under Robins. He had shown glimpses of his ability in the first half of last season in particular after joining from Basel for about £4m on a four-year deal but admitted his performances suffered while he was playing through injury in the first half of 2024/25.

The 24-year-old midfielder was honest about being frustrated when Stoke turned down a decent offer from Midtjylland late in January but insisted he wasn’t going to sulk.

“The first thing I did was go into the manager’s office to say this and this happened, we can put it behind us and I just want to move forward and do everything I can, give everything for Stoke City,” he told StokeonTrentLive in March.

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