GAVIN Ward was lining up a reunion with his old Leicester boss Brian Little today after agreeing to join Second Division Stoke City on a free transfer.

The 28-year-old keeper, who joined Wanderers in March 1996 in a £280,000 transfer from Bradford, looks set to make his debut at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday against Wrexham - the club he rejected last week when he turned down a loan move to the Racecourse.

Little said today: "It's taken a lot of negotiating but it was completed last night. I've known Gavin since we were together at Leicester and he will give Carl Muggleton the competition he has never had."

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