After all the rumours of moves for Crouch and £10m bids for Cameroonian stars, Stoke City have announced the signing of Dean Whitehead. Tony Pulis has been a long time admirer of former Sunderland captain and true to form has stuck to the task of signing him, though it has taken him a few years…

The announcement of Whitehead as the first signing of the summer was, at first, met with a muted response from the majority of the Potters’ faithful, for this, the position in need of most attention before next season begins. That said, reports have emerged to suggest that Whitehead may yet be joined by another Dean in Dean Ashton which has sweetened the deal in the eyes of many this evening.

Speaking to a Sunderland colleague of mine, I was told that Whitehead is a good hard working player, always gives 110% and perhaps most tellingly that he can cover a number of positions across the midfield and even at the back, he assures me he would be sad to see him leave. Now this may well have just been a nice friendly reference as he revels in the thought of capturing one time Stoke targets Peter Crouch and Craig Bellamy – but I really think he was being sincere. The ability for a player to cover multiple positions makes him useful as an experienced squad player, though the flip side is that you could say he is a jack of all trades and a master of none - though this would be unfair to a former captain of an established Premier League club.

I think this is a solid first move for the season and if rumours of an imminent Ashton signing are true then these are two players who will improve the squad by a considerable amount as well as adding that much needed quality..