Stoke City have received a huge boost as goalkeeper Jack Butland has indicated that he will remain with the Potters for this season and attempt to help the club win promotion back to the Premier League.
Butland had been linked with a number of clubs following the Potters relegation last season, including Chelsea.
Despite Stoke having gone down last season, Butland was still one of the top keepers in the top-flight.
The 25-year-old made the most saves out of any keeper in the top flight last season with 144 as reported by the Premier League website.
Impressively, he made more saves than the likes of David De Gea, Thibaut Courtois, Petr Cech, Kasper Schmeichel and Jordan Pickford.
Many had predicted that Butland would serve as the first-choice keeper for England during the 2018 World Cup, however, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate opted to select Everton’s Pickford instead.
Butland’s presence in goal this season for the Potters will certainly boost the club’s chances of winning promotion straight back to the Premier League.
The keeper told Sky Sports: “I wasn’t actively looking for [a move],
“If an opportunity presented itself and it’s an opportunity to go to a top level then you take it, but they weren’t quite there and I was always focused on Stoke regardless.
“If anything changed then I’d accept it and deal with it at the time, but I was prepared and ready to stay and that’s what has developed, so I’m more than happy to be here.
“I believe we’ve got a good squad and a good chance to get back up and ultimately I want to get back to the Premier League, and the best way to do that is with Stoke City.”
It remains to be seen whether Southgate will continue to call-up Butland for national team duty this season as he looks set to be playing in the second-tier of English football.
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