Stoke City: Potters fend off last minute interest in Geoff Cameron from Everton, West Ham, Newcastle and Schalke

STOKE City have fended off dramatic late interest in American transfer target Geoff Cameron from Everton, West Ham, Newcastle and German outfit Schalke, The Sentinel can reveal.

Everton even tabled an 11th-hour offer to try to scupper Stoke's £1.6m move for the 27-year-old Houston Dynamo defender.

Now Cameron is booked on a flight from Houston to Orlando to team up with Stoke and undergo a medical after agreeing personal terms.

All that remains now to bring Cameron's transfer saga to a close is for FIFA to grant him international clearance.

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Cameron has not played the requisite 75 per cent of competitive internationals over the past two years to automatically qualify for clearance, but US coach Bob Bradley is prepared to testify that he would have done had he not been injured.

City boss Tony Pulis, who plans to bring Cameron back to the UK with the touring Stoke party next week, has also hinted that his new acquisition could make a name for himself at full-back in his debut season at the Britannia Stadium.

"I think the deal has been done now, which is pleasing," he said. "We think he's a player who can cope with the Premier League.

"I think he's played full-back as well," he added intriguingly, "and it's always nice to have players who can play in more than one position.

"We're hoping he'll be able to join us (in Orlando), but he won't be able to play until we get clearance. That's the next thing.

"But it will be nice to get him here with the lads and training with us before we take him back to England.

"I doubt we'll have the clearance through in time to play him in Kansas (next Wednesday), so we'll have to wait until we get back home.

"I've seen him play once, in an international, and he's got good qualities. Speaking to loads of people about him, they say his attitude is absolutely fantastic, but you expect that from Americans.

"I think Americans are well suited to the Premier League because they are honest and hard-working.

"You look at some of the players in the MLS and it might be a place teams in England look to now, instead of constantly looking in Europe to buy players. There is better value over here."

Stoke's first recruit of the summer, Scottish youngster Jamie Ness, made his debut at left-back in the 2-1 defeat by Columbus Crew.

However, Pulis quickly poured cold water on the idea of the 21-year-old playing there long-term.

Instead, he opened up the possibility of Ness figuring more on the left of midfield as a possible challenger to Matthew Etherington.

"He's a midfield player more than anything else," he explained. "He needs to get stronger, but he's got quality, played a couple of great passes and kept the ball well."

Stoke's outing in Columbus was memorable for Mama Sidibe as he played in the senior team for the first time since August 2010 following two snapped Achilles tendon injuries and a dislocated knee.

"It was lovely to see Mama after two years out," said Pulis. "For him to play for half-an-hour was brilliant."