Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has revealed that the emergence of young full-back Tom Edwards convinced him to sell Phil Bardsley to Burnley.

The 32-year-old, who made 14 league starts last season, has joined the Clarets in a deal that could be worth up to £1.5m.

Hughes explained that he is pushing towards promoting youth talent and he aims to promote 18-year-old Edwards to his first team this season.

"We weren't likely to offer Phil an extension on his (recently-signed 12-month) deal and we've got decent cover there," said Hughes.

"I've spoken about trying to reduce the amount of senior players and introducing younger players at the top end of the squad. It allows us to maybe invest more fully in the first XI. Phil was obviously part of that thinking and the emergence of Tom Edwards has been really significant.

"We feel that we're happy enough to get Phil to get a longer contract at another club."