Asmir Begovic Considering His Options Ahead of Stoke City Contract Talks

Stoke City ‘keeper Asmir Begovic has long been linked with a move away from the Potteries and speculation will only ratchet up with the Bosnian shot-stopper admitting that he’ll be considering his future when the club come looking for him to sign a new contract.

“You get to a certain age and stage in your career where you want to be part of a successful team pushing forward and we have the ambition to do that and keep the right players here, so we’ll see how it works out,” was his blunt response when asked whether he’ll sign a new deal with Stoke. “I’ve always been very settled and satisfied here. I’ve a year left on my contract and so I’m pretty calm with the situation. We will talk when the time is right and see if we can make it a long-term one.”

For a while there Liverpool were looking almost certain to bring in a new ‘keeper during the summer with Begovic, as well as Chelsea legend Petr Cech, looking like prime candidates to move to Merseyside. The Belgian shot-stopper has since turned his fortunes around at Anfield, but there are still indications that Reds boss Brendan Rodgers will be keeping his options open this summer — though former Liverpool ‘keeper David James believes he’ll be on Merseyside long term.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Simon, and I think he’s got a great future. He will become a better goalkeeper for his experiences, I think,” said the former Liverpool ‘keeper turned pundit. “The fact that he got dropped, similar to me, then got back in through injury, again similar to me, and the performances he has since produced under that kind of scrutiny, I think it says a lot about him, as a player and a character.”