Stoke City chief executive Tony Scholes has described the club's attempt to sign Liverpool winger Oussama Assaidi on a permanent basis as a "very difficult situation".
Assaidi impressed during his season-long loan spell at the Britannia Stadium, but despite the Potters being eager to secure the Moroccan's signature, Scholes has indicated that the two clubs are poles apart in their valuation of the 25-year-old.
Scholes told the Stoke Sentinel: "We've spoken to Liverpool about Oussama and we've spoken to his agent. Sometimes, deals look difficult to do and this one, if I'm frank, this is in the very difficult section.
"We'll see. He had a great season with us last year. We like him a lot, we know what he can bring to the club and he knows the club, that's an advantage.
"There is always a risk with any purchase of a player, but those are reduced substantially when you have had that player with you. It's a deal that we would like to do, but we will have to wait and see."
Assaidi scored five times in 25 appearances for Stoke before returning to Anfield at the end of the season.
Darren Plant
