Although we’re still awaiting an official announcement from the club, Liverpool winger Oussama Assaidi is set to rejoin Stoke City on a season long loan for a fee belived to be £1mil according to a number of reputable news outlets.
It’s a far cry from the permanent move that the Reds were angling for throughout the summer, but if it gets a player with no discernible future at Anfield off the books, then all the better. The Moroccan winger looked all set to trade Merseyside for the Potteries after some wrangling saw the two sides agree to a fee in the region of £7mil — no small task considering the 26-year old was well known as being on Brendan Rodgers list of players he wanted to ship off.
Personal terms — wages in particular — are said to be the main barrier keeping Assaidi from agreeing to personal terms with Stoke as the Moroccan’s agent tried in vain to double his £25,000 per week salary. With Peter Odemwingie facing a long spell on the sidelines, there appears to have been some compromise from Potters boss Mark Hughes though as the deal was revived earlier today with the loan fee hashed out and an agreement to cover his current wages was taken care of.
If all goes to plan and Assaidi passes his medical — his second in successive summers — at the Britannia Stadium then this deal should be done with more than enough time left in the window to see it ratified by the FA with no hiccups.
