Stoke City are considering a move to take Corry Evans to the bet365 Stadium this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that Michael O'Neill's side are set to battle Cardiff City for the signing of the Blackburn Rovers defensive midfielder, who will become a free agent upon the expiry of his current contract at Ewood Park at the end of the month.

The report goes on to suggest that the 30-year-old could be a target to replace the club's potentially outgoing midfielder Sam Clucas, who has been heavily linked with a move to West Bromwich Albion.

O'Neill must move

Despite having missed large spells of last season due to a number of injuries, Evans nevertheless put in a number of solid performances for Blackburn when he did make it out onto the pitch.

Indeed, over his 18 Championship appearances for Tony Mowbray's side last term, the £360k-rated midfielder registered two assists and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.1 tackles, one interception and winning 2.3 duels per game - with these returns seeing the Northern Ireland international earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.74.

And, with Clucas appearing to be on his way out of the bet365 Stadium this summer, the £14k-per-week Evans could well be a solid and cost-effective replacement for the 30-year-old midfielder, and one who O'Neill will certainly know how to get the best out of.

Having made 66 appearances for Northern Ireland, a great deal of which came under the current Stoke boss, the previous relationship between the player and manager could well see Corry flourish following a move to Stoke, as well as being a factor that could help the Potters land the midfielder ahead of Cardiff.

So, it would seem as if the 30-year-old - dubbed a "fantastic" player by Mowbray - and Stoke would be something of a match made in heaven, leading us to believe that it would highly advisable for the club to get a deal over the line for the Blackburn man this summer.

In other news: Get him gone: O'Neill must ruthlessly axe "quality" £1.8m-rated Stoke flop this summer