Stoke City captain Ryan Shawcross says it's positive news that bigger clubs are eyeing off their best players.

Shawcross insists the foundations are there to narrow the cap and they can still spring a surprise on their day. "We've got talent," he told The Sentinel.

"Obviously there seems to be a big difference between us and the top six but we have got a lot of talented players – and a lot of players that teams in the top six want. Hopefully in the summer we can have a few additions to close the gap but there is still a lot to fight for between now and the end of the season.

"This season the massive gap has been shown."