Michael O’Neill will leave his role at Northern Ireland to become the new manager of Stoke City. There is still some negotiating to be done regarding a six-figure compensation fee due to the Irish Football Association, but O’Neill has agreed in principle to a four-year contract at Stoke. He will almost double his £750,000 salary at the IFA.



Stoke are currently bottom of the Championship but O’Neill has been told there will be money to spend in January. He will be at Oakwell on Saturday for Stoke’s game against the side immediately above them in the table, Barnsley.



O’Neill will then take charge of Northern Ireland’s last two group games in the Euro 2020 qualifiers, at home to Holland on Saturday week and then away to Germany on Frankfurt the following Tuesday.



His over-achieving Irish side have a chance of reaching the play-offs but it is unlikely O’Neill will have any involvement with the squad come March.