I'm never sure of the rules for that. I thought you couldn't talk to clubs in the same country until about three months before your contract ends (not six) but could be wrong.
I don't see any reason for Stephens or Stockdale to rush a decision (in Stockdale's case, we don't even know he's had...
In fairness, he can't guarantee he's going to be here next season because we're not promoted at the moment. Even if we are promoted, he doesn't know what we will offer him (as I assume we'd offer more than we are now). Hence he won't say more than that.
The minute we get promoted to the Premier...