Stoke City manager Mark Hughes believes after two consecutive finishes in the top half of the table, the Potters are now viewed differently.

Stoke finished last season with their best Premier League finish of ninth, with a record points total of 50, and they are currently in the same position on 47 points with four matches remaining.

The fact that the Staffordshire outfit are now an established Premier League team, constantly pushing into the top half of the table, suggests to Hughes that they can now lure players from top club to the Britannia Stadium.

"I think we are viewed in a different light now anyway. We are working in different markets," he said.

"Players and their agents feel we are a viable option for their clients these days and that is a consequence of having, hopefully, back-to-back top-10 finishes in the Premier League and the type of football we are trying to play.

"We've got more options and better and different choices than possibly we've had in the past.

"This year we had Victor Moses, we've had other players from Chelsea, Oussama Assaidi from Liverpool, so top clubs know their players can come here and the way we play and train is very similar to what they are exposed to at the top clubs.

"They know there is not that much issue in terms of adaptation when they come here."