Stoke City chief John Rudge is confident of closing a deal for Jamie Ness.

The Scotland under-21 international is also in transfer limbo as Stoke await a FIFA decision on whether to sanction his free signing from Rangers after the Glasgow giants were forced to reform as a new company this summer.

But Rudge is confident the youngster will brush aside any controversy surrounding the deal and quickly acclimatise to life south of the border.

"He is a young lad in a new country and things are not straightforward on the deal, but I'm sure he will be strong enough to get himself up and running," said Rudge to The Sentinel.

"He just wants to get his career going again and get back to playing as soon as possible.

"He is looking forward to the challenge of coming down here from Scotland and playing in the Premier League."