Sources: Stoke City plot raid to sign Malmo star Brorsson in January
Stoke City are eyeing a move for Sweden international defender Franz Brorsson on a free transfer, Football Insider understands.
The Championship club are in the market for defensive reinforcements in the January transfer window after losing key defender Harry Souttar for the rest of the season with a cruciate knee ligament injury he sustained on international duty last month.
A recruitment source has told Football Insider that Malmo centre-back Brorsson, 25, has emerged on their list of targets.
Brorsson, who featured twice for Malmo against Chelsea in this season's Champions League, is out of contract at the Swedish club at the end of December.
Stoke City are hoping to try and lure him to England as soon as the January window opens.
The Potters have kept three clean sheets in the five Championship games Souttar has missed so far.
However, Michael O'Neill has not settled on a new back three with James Chester, Ben Wilmot, Morgan Fox and Danny Batth all featuring.
Stoke are still in the Championship top six after their 0-0 draw with play-off rivals Middlesbrough at the weekend.
Brorsson, who has spent his entire career in Sweden, would offer another solid option.
The two-time international has played 165 times across all competitions for Malmo, including 32 games in Europe.
That includes six appearances in the Champions League group stages, including five this season as the Swedish giants finished bottom of Group H.