Salif Diao is set to make an emotional end to his time at Stoke in the summer in a bid to try and save his playing career.
Curtain is set to fall on Senegalese's time at Britannia Stadium
Salif Diao is set to make an emotional end to his time at Stoke in the summer in a bid to try and save his playing career.
The 35-year-old has turned down the offer of a coaching job after being told he will not be offered a playing role next season.
But Diao says he is not ready to hang up his boots just yet and will leave in the hope of getting some time on the pitch elsewhere, bringing to an end a five-and-a-half year spell in the Potteries.
Injury has restricted him to just 14 appearances this season and he is still some weeks away from being fit, but Diao is hopeful he can add to his 106 appearances for the club and bid farewell to the fans.
Move
"I had a discussion with the gaffer," he told
The Sentinel. "But it doesn't look like I will be offered a new contract as a player, so I will be looking to move.
"They offered me an assistant coaching role, or coaching the Under 21s next season. But for me, I think it is too early, because I haven't earned my coaching badges yet.
"I would only like to do it when I am ready, so maybe I will be back here in the future when I have my badges, who knows?
"There is no ill-feeling at all, that is life and that is football. Sometimes things move on and you are not a part of it, so you have to follow your own path."
Settled
Diao, who joined from Liverpool in 2006, admits he would consider uprooting his family from their Merseyside home if the right offer came from abroad.
"In my head, I want to carry on playing for one or two more years, because football is so enjoyable and I never want it to end," he added.
"Hopefully, I will get something somewhere else. I will check all the options and decide with my family because that is important.
"The family are settled here, so the priority is to stay in England, but if I get an offer from abroad worth looking at, then I will check it out."
