Hughes confident in Stoke goalkeeping depth

Stoke City have enough strength in depth in the goalkeeper department to combat the departure of Asmir Begovic, according to manager Mark Hughes.

Begovic joined Chelsea on a four-year deal on Monday, ending the Bosnia-Herzegovina international's impressive stint at the Britannia Stadium, which began when he made the switch from Portsmouth in 2010.

Jack Butland – who has spent most of his Stoke career on loan since transferring from Birmingham City in 2013 – is the favourite to take over from Begovic, although the club did sign Shay Given from Aston Villa last week.

And Hughes said: "We wish Asmir well, he's moved on to the next chapter of his career after doing great things at Stoke.

"We are pleased he was here for the time he was and part of a successful period for the club.

"He's moved on now and we will also move on very quickly. We've obviously brought Shay Given in and we have a handy young keeper in Jack Butland at the club and Jakob [Haugaard] has joined us as well.

"So in terms of our goalkeeping department, I think we are strong and we are looking to give all the guys a chance to grab the number one shirt for Stoke City."

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