Stoke City enquire about availability of Barcelona midfielder Sergi Roberto

The 22-year-old is tipped to follow in the footsteps of clubmate Xavi and is good friends with Stoke's Marc Muniesa and Bojan Krkic from their time at Barcelona.

He was at the Britannia Stadium earlier this week to watch Stoke against Chelsea.

Roberto is highly thought of by the Catalan giants but currently finds himself behind a host of stars in the pecking order. 

And with Muniesa and Bojan settling in well in the Premier League Barcelona's hierarchy would be open to the possibility of a loan deal.

Roberto, who is capped at Under 17, 19, 20 and 21 level for Spain, has not played a league game for Luis Enrique's side since October and is thought to favour a short-term deal to increase his playing time. 

(dailymail.co.uk)