Stoke City boss Mark Hughes is happy for he club to compete for the Football League Trophy.

He said he welcomed the invitation for clubs like Stoke to send an under-21 team into the Football League Trophy to play the likes of Port Vale and Crewe next season.

“Every club is different. Some of the clubs obviously have more games at that level and maybe feel they've got enough in their calendar and playing diary that they don't need to add more games," Hughes told The Sentinel.

“But we like the idea of the competition. We are trying to make sure our under-21s are exposed to more senior football of relevance and we see this as an opportunity to do that."