Peter Coates: 'Stoke City can compete with elite clubs'

Stoke City chairman Peter Coates has claimed that the club have the financial power to compete with the world's biggest clubs.

After securing a top-half finish last season, Mark Hughes has improved his squad once again with the likes of Ibrahim Afellay and Xherdan Shaqiri, who joined the Potters from Inter Milan for a club-record fee earlier this month.

Clubs that avoid relegation will receive a financial boost when a record TV deal kicks in next year, and Coates believes that the future is bright for Stoke.

"If Stoke City can stay up we get, roughly, an extra £40m - that's a huge chunk of money," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

"We've probably got a larger budget than most teams in Europe and we can compete with the world's top teams.

"If we can get the best players - they tend to follow the money - it shows you what a powerful league it is. It's a phenomena."

Stoke take on Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday.