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Lee Cattermole may well be on his way to Stoke after all after Gus Poyet revealed the club are considering an 'impressive' bid for the midfielder.
He told reporters:
We were not expecting to do any business today unless an incredible opportunity came up either way.
But from this morning we have been dealing with a situation with Lee Cattermole, where an impressive offer has come in for him.
We cannot say anything because it is still ongoing.
It looks like he is not going at this very moment in time but it changes by the hour and it would be very difficult to explain everything going on.
It is very difficult for me as a manager.
I would like to keep the group of players we have got today and I was confident on Thursday evening that we would keep them until the end of the season.
I never expected this with Lee.
We had an offer the other day which was very simple to turn down and nothing happened during the day after that, so I thought that was fine.
But Stoke came back with a big price and that's the problem, every player has a price. They have put us in a difficult situation.
It puts him in a difficult situation too.
I was looking forward to having him and Liam Bridcutt fighting for that place because they are both leaders.
Now everything can change and it is not easy.
Poyet also revealed, however, that Sunderland are targeting a British-based midfielder to replace him, should the deal go-ahead. Though whether Cattermole's departure depends on the success of that chase is unknown,
