Sign up NOW for your daily Stoke City newsletter straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

It is one method that hasn't yet been tried as Stoke City bid to bring down the huge numbers of a massively-underperforming and expensive squad: listing them as a job lot on ebay for under a quid.

Stoke City supporter Jeremy Leese has this morning place Michael O'Neill's first team up for auction online for a starting bid of 99p, plus £2.90 postage.

In the condition report it states: "For parts or not working."

And in a bitterly cold description it adds: "Stoke City FC First Team Squad. Dispatched with Royal Mail second class.

"Not suitable for task for which bought, unreliable and unpredictable, job lot of below average footballers, attitudes questionable, work ethic poor, not advisable to use as dog walkers as cannot hold onto a lead.

"No returns accepted."

A good chunk of Stoke's squad is genuinely up for sale (although all offers should probably be made via Tony Scholes) and Senegal midfielder Badou Ndiaye is likely to be the first out of the door.

Ndiaye is understood to be in Turkey finalising a move to Trabzonspor, his second exit from the club since a £14m arrival from Galatasaray back in January 2018, when Stoke were still in the Premier League.

O'Neill has been clear about the need to reduce numbers.

He said last month: "There’s no room in the changing room for any more players!

"We won’t be able to bring any in unless some players leave first of all. We had 17 not starting (against Wigan). That’s too many. That’s the reality, without young players. We just have to manage that situation between now and January."

StokeonTrentLive has launched a WhatsApp service dedicated to keeping you up to date with the latest Stoke City news! Click here to joinand follow the instructions on your phone. Your number won't be shared with anyone else in the group. If you want more information on signing up, or if this link doesn’t work, click here.