Stoke close in on Carew

Norway striker John Carew has moved a step close to leaving Aston Villa after reportedly passing a medical at Stoke City on Thursday.

Carew, 31, has struggled to force his way into the plans of Villa boss Gerard Houllier in the first half of the season, starting just six games and failing to score.

The arrival at Villa Park of record-signing Darren Bent means Carew would have been likely to fall further down the pecking order.

Stoke now appear to have beaten off competition from Premier League rivals Fulham in the race to sign the former Valencia and Lyon man, who is understood to have passed a fitness test late Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Stoke assistant manager Dave Kemp confirmed that the two English Premier League clubs were in talks.

“(Carew) is a very good player and one we would be interested in,” Kemp said.

“To say we were targeting John Carew (is not necessarily true) but (Darren) Bent goes there so it might become an option and that is what happened.”

“He is a quality player and we would be interested in a player of that ilk.”

“He is a very experienced, top-level Premier League striker and he would bring much to the team so we would like to sign him – but so would a number of other clubs possibly.”

“There have been discussions but nothing has been finalised.”

The deal is likely to be completed on Friday, but it is unlikely to feature in Stoke’s trip to Fulham on Saturday.