Stoke's Chester bid rejected by Villa

According to Sky Sports, the bid was in the region of £5m for the 29-year-old centre-back.

Manager Steve Bruce has admitted that the club will have no choice but to sell of some of their top assets in order to prevent the club falling into administration.

The club will need to raise £40m in order to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations after failing to win promotion to the Premier League last season.

They will have to pay back money owing to HMRC which has been orded by the High Court.

Stoke City's new boss Gary Rowlett wants Chester to form part of his team that he hopes will win promotion to the Premier League.

Currently, he's short of defensive options, after Kurt Zouma returned to Chelsea and Marc Muniesa made a permanent move to Girona.