Stoke City haven't dropped their pursuit of Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Axel Witsel.

The Mirror says Stoke are prepared to play the long game in their pursuit of Belgium midfielder Witsel.

The 27-year-old star has just a year left on his contract but he is currently lukewarm on the prospect of leaving Zenit St Petersburg to go to the Britannia.

Stoke, however, experienced a similar situation with Swiss star Xherdan Shaqiri who rejected them twice before finally signing for a then-record £12million from Inter Milan.