Stoke City boss Alex Neil insists there's no pressure to sell Harry Souttar.

Leicester have been linked with the centre-back this month and have reportedly made two bids for the Australia international, who was a standout at the World Cup in Qatar over the winter.

Manager Brendan Rodgers is looking to add another centre-back this month, and Souttar fits the bill for Leicester. The Stoke man missed the Potters' game against Reading today (Saturday), an absence which has been put down to a hip injury.

Speaking after the match, Stoke boss Neil said: "It's a genuine injury. I spoke to John O'Shea, who was addressing the media before the game, to make sure he made people aware because I'm not naive, I know exactly how it's going to go down.

"He's got a genuine niggle and it won't be too long. I'm not sure it's going to be ready for this weekend (an FA Cup game against Stevenage on January 29) but he will certainly be ready for the following weekend."

He added: "I don't have to let him go. I think it'll be a decision internally and whether we let Harry move on to something that might be very good for him and could help us do what we need to do in regards to the squad. That will be a decision and a conversation internally.

"Every player, every person has a price because ultimately it's a business. We want to keep our best players, we're not in the habit of losing our best players but a sign of being a successful team is selling players for big money and then you reinvest it to bring in four or five that you hope to do the same with to keep the cycle going."