No way out for Crouch

CROUCH: Wants a start

STOKE CITY LEICESTER CITY

PETER CROUCH has been told he is not for sale at any price.

The 6ft 7in forward is 37 in January and past his peak, but Stoke boss Mark Hughes believes the former England man is priceless and is prepared to barricade his office door to stop the player getting in.

Crouch says he is getting fed up at being used as a supersub by Hughes, who called him on after 69 minutes on Saturday with Stoke 2-1 down – and was paid back within four minutes when Crouch powered home a header from Xherdan Shaqiri’s corner.

Come January, there will be no shortage of clubs trying to sniff out a bargain. But Hughes will tell them to get lost while admitting Crouch has made his feelings clear.

“He does it on TV just to make sure I’m aware of it,” said Hughes with a chuckle. “All his mates in the media make sure they ask the question.

“He gets frustrated, I understand that. Basically I’d say, ‘Tough, you’re staying’. He’s unique in terms of what he gives us and obviously he’s still very adept at what he does.”

Crouch said: “It would be nice to be starting and scoring goals but obviously that’s the way things are going for me. When I come on I try to make an impact and hopefully get a start.”

Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who made a couple of superb stops, felt Crouch had made the difference.

“Crouch was a problem straight away,” he said. “A draw away from home is usually a big result but we feel slightly disappointed. The goals we conceded were avoidable.”

Vicente Iborra struck from close range to put Leicester ahead in the 33rd minute. Shaqiri soon equalised after a delightful ball from Maxim Choupo-Moting.

Riyad Mahrez put Leicester back in front before Crouch pounced with his 52nd Premier League headed goal.