Mark Hughes "very hopeful" over Marko Arnautovic

Mark Hughes has said that he is "very hopeful" Marko Arnautovic will sign a new contract with Stoke City.

It was recently reported that the Austrian, who is tied to the Britannia Stadium for another 18 months, had rejected Stoke's first offer of a new deal.

However, Hughes is confident that an agreement will eventually be reached.

"As with all negotiations, usually agents go in high, we go in low and somewhere in the future, we find some middle ground and it gets down," the Stoke boss told reporters.

"That's what is happening with Marko's situation. Negotiations are ongoing and we're very hopeful that Marko will be a big part of what we do going forward."

Arnautovic, 26, has found the net on seven occasions so far this season.