Stoke City chairman Peter Coates has dismissed reports that striker Dave Kitson will be leaving in January.

Kitson has failed to score since joining City for a club record £5.5m from Reading in July and is rumoured to be unsettled at the Britannia Stadium.

But Coates told BBC Radio Stoke: "We don't want to offload him, we think he's a very good player.

"Like all strikers, he needs a goal. Pressures can build but I'm sure he'll get there eventually."