Stoke City defender Nathan Collins is looking likely to depart the club this summer to make his way for the Premier League.
This is after reports from The Sun reveal that Burnley have made a £12 million bid for the 20 year old which is thought to be set to be accepted by the Potters.
Although Michael O'Neill's side may hold off for a little longer with the Daily Express and Daily Star reporting that Leicester City and Arsenal are keeping close tabs on the centre half.
Therefore, with there being wide spread interest for Collins the question is should Stoke let him go this summer instead of letting him develop a little more at the club.
Then if the youngster who signed a five year contract with the Potters in 2019 does end up leaving will it diminish Stoke's hopes of pushing for a place in the top six next season.
Collins vital member of Potters defensive structure
Despite being hit with a string of injuries last season that saw the Ireland under 21 international only feature 22 times in the Championship, when he did play he impressed alongside the likes of Harry Souttar and James Chester in O'Neill's typical three at the back system.
This is proven by the fact that in the time that the 20 year old did feature last campaign he helped his side to keep ten clean sheets in the league.
His pace along with his good positioning skills and organisation that was present last season are certainly attributes that will have attracted Sean Dyche to be keen to bring him in to the Clarets.
Last season Collins further featured at times at right back when the Potters played four at the back and when regular full back Tommy Smith was unavailable.
This versatility and ability to play effectively in different defensive positions is something else that will have drove attention from Burnley towards the youngster, especially since that the full back area is a position that they will be hoping to add strength in depth in.
Therefore, the defensive qualities that Collins obtains added with the fact that he has plenty still left to learn will both be things that will make O'Neill want to keep the centre back.
On the other side of things with the Potters already having good options on the defensive side of things if the right price came in for Collins it could make more sense for the club to sell him on so the team could be strengthened in other areas that aren't as strong.
Could play-off chances be minimised with Collins sale
Last season at a point Stoke appeared to be contenders to finishing in the top six, but a bad second half of the season meant that they ended the campaign comfortably in mid table.
Consequently, going into the next campaign O'Neill will be aiming for his side to break into those play-offs spots and if they did lose one of their star defenders from last season, it certainly would diminish their chances of doing this.
That is why if the club were to sell Collins, they would have to negotiate a good price and with the money they received they would have to ensure to spend it wisely to improve the overall balance of the squad.
The Potters particularly need strengthening in the attacking midfielder role and they need to add more out and out proven goalscorers as a lack of of goals in important games last season is something that showed to cost them.
Therefore, if they bring in the necessary players from the money from the Collins sale there is no doubt that he will be worth getting rid of.
However, if the club do not believe that they can secure the contracts of the players that will help improve their overall squad they might as well consider keeping Collins on for another year and then selling him on for a potentially higher price next summer.