Stoke City boss Mark Hughes has ruled out any rumour of a January transfer for Burnley defender Michael Keane, but has said he is looking at other targets.
Keane was strongly linked with a move to the Britannia this January although any interest has now been shattered but with the window open for another eight days Hughes has said he is "actively looking" for players to bring in.
West Bromwich Albion striker Saido Berahino has been on the Potters' radar for much of the Winter window, but no firm bid has been put forward by the club, and the manager has refused to comment on the possible transfer.
Michael Keane link
The City boss said he was unaware of any talk of a move for the 23-year-old as he said "My understanding is that it is not true."
The former Manchester United player has been at Burnley since 2015 after previously signing on loan at the club, but it was widely reported that his representatives were in talks regarding a Premier League move to Stoke, but any transfer seems to have been put to bed after Hughes' comments.
Keane is under a three and half year contract at Turf Moor so any transfer would come at a premium especially for a player that is still so young with plenty of potential, it was believed that there was a £7million fee rejected .
The link may be due to the recent Ryan Shawcross injury as the centre-back has been ruled out for three months after back surgery which has effectively ended his season. Marco Muniesa is also injured but is expected to return very soon, while Geoff Cameron, who can operate as a centre-back, has encountered complications with his ankle injury and now requires further testing.
Further transfers
Despite ruling out a move for the Burnley man, Hughes was less direct when asked about other players he was looking to bring in as he believed speaking about players under contract was "innapropriate".
He said specifically, "it is innapropriate for me to talk about individual players. We never get too ahead of ourselves because we know the potential pitfalls of the transfer process"
It seemed that any interest would be discussed at a later date as the manager did not want to disrupt any on-going talks. Berahino seems the most likely option for a move as the player is widely known to have fallen out with WBA chairman Jeremy Peace.
The 23-year-old was close to a move to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer but this collapsed and the England Under- 21 star blamed Peace for the failure.
