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Cape Town - Stoke City manager Mark Hughes is hopeful that star forward Marko Arnautovic will remain at the club beyond next season.
Arnautovic has one year left on his current deal with the Potters and is said to be in high demand after an impressive season at the Britannia last year - helping them to a ninth-place finish.
His 12 goals and six assists in 40 games earned him the club's Players' Player of the Year award, and the Welshman is now hopeful of securing his long-term future.
"We are where we were with Marko, but we remain very hopeful of being able to keep him here," Hughes told the club's website.
"Marko knows what he has here and knows the environment that he is in, he is well liked in the dressing room and in the stands too.
"Those sort of things are important to Marko, and he understands that.
"He isn't going to rush into any decision - clearly he has had an offer on the table from ourselves for a period of time now but his advisors want to take a look at the options for him."
Stoke have been preparing for Arnautovic's potential departure, however, with BBC Football reporting on Wednesday that they had a £17m offer, including £3m in add-ons, for West Brom forward Saido Berhaino rejected.
