Wilfried Bony's return to parent club Manchester City will likely see others leave Stoke alongside him. With many top names frustrated with life at the Bet365 Stadium, a mass exodus of players is on the cards.
Manager Mark Hughes will have to lower the wage bill in order to sign replacements for the first team; so a termination of Bony's loan spell in the summer is almost a certainty, with Stoke paying £80k of his £120k-a-week wages.
Players such as Bojan, Joselu, Marc Muniesa, Philipp Wollscheid, and record signing Gianelli Imbula all have question marks over their future at the Potters. Speaking toMailOnline, Hughes seems to recognise the fact that he's going to have a busy summer.
"'It is fair to say this summer we will look at the make-up of the squad and maybe change things around a little bit," Hughes claimed.
"We probably won't be as top-heavy with senior players."
"When that's the case it's harder to keep everybody happy. If they are younger players they will accept it is part of their development if they are in and out of the squad.
"We will see the finances we have available and the money we can generate as well. That will all go into the same pot. And we will see if we can invest in the front 11 as well."
When questioned on Bony's recent outburst in the media, Hughes stayed calm, trying to give reasoning behind the Ivorian's comments.
"Wilf had a good run initially of 10, 11 games and it's fair to say he didn't score as many goals as he or I would have liked,' said Hughes.
"He will have to be patient. He is behind a couple of players at the moment. I assume that's why he has had a little bit of reaction in the press."