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Walters keen to stay

London - Stoke City forward Jonathan Walters wants to stay with the Potters and continue his longest-ever stint at the same club despite the prolonged negotiations over his contract, the Sentinel reported.

The 31-year-old was the subject of a failed bid from Norwich City last week and has been widely tipped to leave the Britannia Stadium after entering the final year of his current deal.

"Of course I'd be disappointed if I had to leave the club," Walters said.

"I want to stay. I've been here five years, this is my sixth season and it's the longest I've been at any club," he added.

Manager Mark Hughes has made it clear that he wants to keep Walters and said earlier this week that the player would probably be allowed to run down the rest of his contract and leave for free next year if a deal could not be reached.

Walters admitted there was still doubt over whether he would sign a new contract.

"There's a contract there but (not for me to consider)," the Sentinel quoted the player as saying.

"In my eyes if they valued me it would be there and it's not there so ... talk's cheap when it comes to things like these and I'll leave it for the men behind the scenes to sort out," he added.

"People behind the scenes know why and I'll leave it with my agents and lawyer. I can't really go too much into it," said Walters, who has scored 34 league goals for Stoke since he joined from Ipswich in 2010.

Stoke, who are 15th in the table with two points from their first three games, take on former manager Tony Pulis' West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, and Walters could feature after recovering from the virus that saw him miss the 1-1 draw away at Norwich City last weekend.

He played a full part in the penalty shootout win against Luton Town in the League Cup on the Tuesday and opened his account for the season when he gave Stoke the lead in the 67th minute.

"I'm ok and I played 120 minutes at Luton ... so it's about recovering after that and getting ready for the weekend because we've got a big squad and everyone is fighting for places," Walters said.

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