Stoke are looking for a new manager after sacking Mark Hughes on Saturday evening.

The club decided to sever ties with the former Manchester United forward following the 2-1 FA Cup third round defeat by Coventry.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at five potential replacements for the Welshman.

 

 

Ronald Koeman

Worked relative wonders at a similar-sized Premier League club in Southampton, whom he guided to two consecutive top-seven finishes, and is unlikely to be too tainted by his subsequent disappointment at Everton.

The Dutchman would likely prove a popular choice if he could be convinced that the Potters were a club that matched his ambitions.

Slavisa Jokanovic

Whether the current Fulham boss could be prised away from Craven Cottage is a big question, but there are few doubts about Jokanovic’s suitability for the role.

After previous success with Watford and Maccabi Tel Aviv, as well as changing the fortunes of the west Londoners, Jokanovic may feel the time is right to give the Premier League a shot.

Ryan Giggs

Perennially associated with vacant Premier League roles, Giggs’ name will doubtless once again be in the running for the Britannia Stadium role.

Giggs would bring new ideas and experience of working with Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford, but it is unlikely Stoke chief Peter Coates would consider him the right fit at this stage.

Aitor Karanka

The Spaniard’s Middlesbrough team did not send pulses racing but they functioned on defensive discipline and how that is needed at Stoke.

The Potters have shipped goals at an alarming rate this season and Karanka, who is still based in the north of England, has stated his desire for a new project.

Graham Potter

The last remaining English manager in European club competition this season, Potter has worked wonders with Swedish minnows Ostersunds – and happens to have played 45 times for the Potters in the mid-1990s.

Would be a brave and left-field choice, but Potter’s record in Sweden stands up against some of the very best in the business.