Jack Butland has revealed he choose Stoke over Chelsea for playing time when he left Birmingham in 2013.
The England international, who is currently sidelined with a broken ankle, has been in tremendous form for Stoke this season and he would have been in Roy Hodgson’s 23-man squad to go to the Euros in the summer.
Butland’s performances between the sticks have seen the shot-stopper linked with a big move away in the summer, although he could already have been at a big club.
“It wasn’t the need to play straight away. It was kind of ‘what’s the next step and how can I build my career next?’. I just felt at the time I didn’t want to get bogged down at a big club,” Butland explained on Goals on Sunday when asked about why he rejected a move to Chelsea.
“I’d always back myself to try and do well, but I didn’t want to get bogged down and be another number. It felt like the next step for me was at Stoke and that was somewhere I could really develop and build something.”
Despite having missed Stoke’s last two matches, only Heurelho Gomes (108) has made more saves than Butland (103) in the Premier League this season.
For more stats on Jack Butland, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
