Premier League side Stoke City have admitted that the emphasis is now on balancing out their squad with a few sales, following some early transfer business.

Phil Bardsley, Steve Sidwell and Mame Biram Diouf have all been signed this summer and chief executive Tony Scholes said that while they will remain on the lookout for more, the important thing now is to clear out some unneeded players.

"We will see [if we bring in any new players], it's about if the opportunities present themselves, but we also have to be mindful that we have to keep things balanced up," Scholes told The Sentinel.

"Inevitably, after bringing a handful of new players in already there are one, two or three on the fringes who will probably be moving out. You've got to be mindful of the financial and also squad management reasons. You don't want too large a squad.

"We haven't decided to take the rest of the summer off. There is still work being done and a lot of players being tracked."

Stoke finished ninth in the Premier League last season.