Stoke City midfielder Michael Tonge admits he may take legal action against West Ham United.

The 25-year-old was relegated with Sheffield United after Carlos Tevez helped West Ham stay up in 2007 - although it was later ruled that the Argentina international should not have been playing for the Hammers.

Sheffield United have successfully battled to win compensation from West Ham and the two clubs agreed an out-of-court settlement earlier this week.

Former Blades boss Neil Warnock has admitted he is looking into the situation with a view to taking legal action - and now Stoke midfielder Tonge admits he is also ready to do the same.

"I'm just waiting to see what comes of it. I'm not taking it upon myself to make a claim, but might consider joining one," said Tonge. "It's not something I'm thinking too much about at the moment. I'm sure things will start to be resolved over the next few weeks, so they may become clearer then.

"West Ham have admitted they have done something wrong and I think it should have been sorted out in that season.

"It wouldn't have been brought up as much if Carlos Tevez hadn't played such a prominent part in West Ham staying up.

"Maybe if he were a defender it wouldn't have been such a big deal, but he scored lots of goals, including the one at Manchester United on the last day that kept them up."