Stoke City chairman Peter Coates has defended the club's transfer policy after losing out to Celtic in the Bosman battle for Cardiff City winger Joe Ledley.
The 23-year-old Wales international is due for a medical in Glasgow today after turning down City to sign for the Scottish giants.
Coates told The Sentinel: "It is up to him where he goes. We were interested in the player, but that's his decision if he goes to Celtic.
"If he goes to Celtic he goes without a fee so if there's no fee they could pay more money.
"But players make these decisions for all sorts of reasons. It doesn't reflect on us what he decides to do. This isn't just about Celtic and Stoke City, there were four or five clubs fishing around."
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