Stoke City have thrown their hat in the ring for Zenit Saint Petersburg star Axel Witsel.
According to CalcioMercato, the Potters have lodged an early bid for the 27-year-old Belgian midfielder.
Witsel, who is in Marc Wilmots' Belgium squad for Euro2016, is desperate to leave Zenit this summer and has no shortage of potential suitors.
AC Milan were close to signing him in January while Tottenham and AS Roma have also been heavily linked.
However, Mark Hughes has stolen a march on his rivals by reportedly making an £11million offer for the central midfielder.
Stoke have been successful in recent pursuits of talented European players, namely the signings of Bojan Krkic, Ibrahim Afellay, Giannelli Imbula and Xherdan Shaqiri over the last few years which indicates that Witsel is well within their reach.
