Latest Stoke City news from StokeonTrentLive as deadline-day move for midfielder Wouter Burger is making headlines again.

One of the biggest Stoke City stories on transfer deadline day last month was the interest and subsequent offer for Wouter Burger.

To be fair, you could say the bet365 jury is still out on the 24-year-old, who impressed on his arrival at Stoke the summer before last but has yet to find the consistency to make him one of the first names on Mark Robins’ team sheet. Injuries have not helped, of course.

But there was nevertheless shock when it emerged on deadline day that Danish outfit FC Midtjylland were keen on the Dutch midfielder. It was later claimed that Stoke had warned Midtjylland any approach would be too late if it came in the final week of the window, and when it did their bid was rejected.

Such interest could be taken for a sign that Midtjylland will be back in for Burger come the summer, but one of the men involved in the January negotiations has suggested this is not necessarily the case.

Midtjylland’s interest in Burger was sparked by their sale of Emiliano Martínez to Palmeiras on January 24. According to Copenhagen outlet Tipsbladet , the Stoke man and Heracles Almelo’s Brian De Keersmaecker were options to replace the Uruguayan. In the event, they missed out on both and recruited Dani Silva from Hellas Verona instead.

Tipsladet have now interviewed Midtjylland sporting director Peter Sand. While pleased with Silva, he claimed the Superliga side had multiple options to replace Martínez – and insists it is a risk-free strategy.

He said : “It’s far too risky to focus on one candidate. You don’t just need one, you need two or three. I call it an extended property deal.

“There are many dependencies, and you can ask how far back in the chain you have to go. And that all adds up to the fact that sometimes things finally fall into place at the 11th hour.

“And I know that outwardly it may seem like we end up with our third or fourth priority, but you want to have three candidates who you want to have in the team. And then you get started.

“It doesn’t make much sense to talk about who is first or third priority, you want each of them ideally. Fortunately, we did a good and professional job, so we were able to close with an adequate replacement for Emi.”

All in all, such a strategy suggests Midtjylland’s priorities have changed and Burger will not be a target when the summer window opens. And even if he way, the Dane’s now know what they need to do to get a deal over the line.

Read more at;https://sportupdates.co.uk