Football
PA Sport 9y

Mark Hughes eager to keep Asmir Begovic at Stoke

Stoke manager Mark Hughes will send goalkeeper Asmir Begovic back into action on Sunday and hopes it will not be for the final time.

Begovic's future has been the subject of considerable speculation in recent months with the highly-rated Bosnia international due to enter the final year of his contract this summer.

The 27-year-old has been linked with a number of clubs, including Liverpool and Manchester United, and such conjecture has been further fuelled by his absence from Stoke's last three games.

Begovic has sat out the encounters against Swansea, Tottenham and Burnley as Hughes has fulfilled a pledge to allow England Under-21 international Jack Butland some game time.

That led to suggestions Butland could now inherit the number one position permanently but Hughes remains keen for Begovic to stay and will restore him for the last game of the season against Liverpool.

Hughes said: "Asmir is very much our player, which we are really pleased about. He is playing on Sunday and is somebody that we want to keep here, as I have said many times before.

"We will sit down with him, speak to him and his people and look for those talks to come to a positive conclusion."

The Potters will be hoping to sign off on a high at the Britannia Stadium having already achieved a record points tally in the competition of 51. With a final position of ninth already confirmed, they have also secured successive top-half finishes in the top flight for the first time in 40 years.

They will show their appreciation to supporters after the game and Hughes has said injured playmaker Bojan Krkic is likely to return from Spain to join in.

The Spaniard made a huge impression at the club after arriving in a £3 million deal from Barcelona last summer but required surgery after suffering a season-ending knee injury in January. He has since been rehabilitating in his homeland.

Hughes said: "We are hoping that he will be here on Sunday, giving his thanks to the fans for the support he has received from them, both prior to and following his injury. He is progressing really well and we are hopeful, all being well, of having him available to us ready for the new season."

Stoke will go into the game fresh from confirming they will be exercising their right to buy defender Philipp Wollscheid from Bayer Leverkusen. The 26-year-old has made 14 appearances since joining on loan in January.

Hughes hopes it signals the start of a successful summer recruitment campaign. Speaking at his prematch news conference, Hughes said: "He is somebody that has done really well, having been thrown in at the deep end. I am certain he will get better. He has a lot of potential.

"There are other targets that we are hopeful of getting over the line and ideally we would like them all in in time for pre-season. But we will bide our time, if needs be, to make sure we get the right ones in."

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