Stoke Opens Negotiations With Tottenham For Palacios: Deal Expected Soon

According to reports from the BBC, Stoke City have re-entered negotiations for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Wilson Palacios. The report claims that The Potters are looking for the deal to be finished within the next 48 hours.

Stoke City has been long rumored to be pursuing Palacios this offseason. The report states that Stoke City manager Tony Pulis is prepared to pay around £6m for the 27-year-old. The Honduran international Palacios arrived to Tottenham in January 2009, leaving Wigan Athletic for £12 million.

Obviously, buying Palacios and selling him at 1/2 price only two years after his arrival would not be a tremendous piece of business for Tottenham. Coming off a an injury-plagued season (preceded by being one of Spurs' top players in 09-10), Tottenham would be selling Palacios at his lowest value.

Also, Palacios's departure would leave even more bare the thin central midfield ranks of Spurs. However, this move seems to make more sense in conjunction with yesterday's report of Scott Parker moving to White Hart Lane. Perhaps the pairing of the Palacios and Parker moves means that Harry Redknapp is not lying when he says that Luka Modric will not be departing this transfer window. Stay tuned for the next episode of: "As The Spurs Midfield Turns."