Wednesday 17 January 2018 18:24, UK
Kostas Stafylidis arrived at Stoke City's training ground on Wednesday evening to undergo a medical, ahead of signing a loan deal from Bundesliga side Augsburg, Sky Sports News has been told.
The Potters are in negotiations with Bundesliga side Augsburg to bring the left-back in on loan for the remainder of the Premier League campaign.
Greece international Stafylidis, 24, is known for his quick turn of pace and accomplished ability at set-pieces.
Stoke are keen to bring in cover for regular left-back Erik Pieters, who has missed five of the last six games through injury resulting in 18-year-old Josh Tymon having play in the recent fixture with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Stafylidis is believed to be eager to make the switch after falling down the pecking order in Germany and finding his first-team opportunities limited.
The Greek defender would be the first signing of the Lambert era, after the Scot was brought in following the sacking of Mark Hughes.
Lambert played for Borussia Dortmund in the late 1990s, and still has strong connections in Germany.
In the nine months since he was sacked by Wolves, he had a number of trips to watch games and study training methods in the Bundesliga.
Lambert also spent some time working with Pep Guardiola when the Spaniard was in charge of Bayern Munich in 2014, in hope of adding a new dimension to his coaching.
After being confirmed as manager on Monday, Lambert, who is tasked with keeping Stoke in the top flight, revealed he had already started discussing several transfer targets with his new bosses.
