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Mark Hughes has admitted that Stoke are interested in trying to sign Manchester United defender Phil Jones.

Jones, 24, has been left out of Jose Mourinho's first three matchday squads this season and is also reportedly generating interest from Arsenal, report the Manchester Evening News.

The former Blackburn defender is also expected to miss out on a place on the bench for Saturday's trip to Hull and as a result, Hughes has admitted that Stoke are interested in loaning him.

"As I said we've made enquiries," Hughes said at his pre-match press conference. "We've talked about a lot of players, too many to list to be perfectly honest.

"Clearly he's a player that has got good pedigree and is at a good club and sometimes you just enquire to see what the current thinking is on certain players."

(Image: Matthew Peters/Getty Images) (Image: PA)

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Jones has not played for the United first-team since January 2 but did feature in the pre-season games against Wigan, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray and Everton.

The England international outlined his ambitions for the new season earlier this month.

"I've had ups and downs," Jones said. "It started off really well and winning the league in my second season was a dream, I've managed to play at a World Cup, been at a Euros, played over 100 games, overall not as many as I'd have liked but hopefully I can get many more games.

(Image: Clive Brunskill) (Image: Clive Brunskill)

"I didn't play much football last season so it's important for me to stay fit and give myself a bit of an edge at the start of the season, come back fit and strong. I've started seasons off and set this goal and that goal, and I want to do this and I want to do that.

"I just want to play football this season and just enjoy it, play games and win things ultimately and hopefully we can do that."