EXCLUSIVE: Stoke sign Palacios and open talks with Crouch over £20m double deal



By Sportsmail Reporter

Holding talks: Tottenham striker Peter Crouch

Stoke are close to pulling off a spectacular £20million double deal for Wilson Palacios and Peter Crouch as they bid to challenge for honours at home and abroad.



Negotiations for Tottenham midfielder Palacios' move to the Britannia Stadium have been successfully concluded, and he is now a Stoke player.

Tottenham's England striker Crouch is in the Potteries discussing a transfer to Stoke, who are confident he will join them and complete a significant coup that will send out a serious statement of intent about Tony Pulis' side's ambitions this season.



Stoke initially moved for the pair earlier this month, but were frustrated by an inability to agree valuations with the White Hart Lane club and Crouch's reluctance to leave Tottenham, following a Champions' League campaign last season.



Pulis and chairman Peter Coates persevered, however, and are finally on the brink of a breakthrough that will increase their prospects of maintaining a challenge for honours domestically and in the Europa League.

It is understood Palacios is costing between £7million and £9m and that the fee for Crouch, who is expected to sign in the next 24 hours, is between £11m and £13m.



New Potter: Honduras midfield enforcer Wilson Palacios (right)

Pulis had sounded a note of caution over his side's recruitment drive, ahead of their game with West Brom, saying: 'We have a wage structure here that we are keen to keep to. That is how the club is run, and it is the right way to go.



'The problem is that, as we improve as a club, we are asking players to come here for maybe less wages than they are already on.



'That is the difficult part. But we will keep pursuing our targets, and do our best to bring them here, because at the moment, we are not capable of competing on two fronts, home and in Europe.'





