Bosnian shot stopper is not for sale, insists his manager.
Premier League giants Arsenal and Manchester United have both been dealt a major blow in their efforts to sign highly-rated Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic at the end of the season, reports the Daily Star.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina international has been one of, if not the, best shot stoppers in the top flight to date in this campaign, and this despite the Potters struggling all season long to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
However, Stoke manager Tony Pulis has insisted that the 25-year-old is going nowhere this summer, despite a mountain of speculation of late linking the keeper with an end-of-season move to a big-name top-flight club.
Begovic is contracted to the Britannia stadium until 2016, although the club did buy England Under-21 international Jack Butland from Birmingham City during the recent January transfer window in a move in what most people assumed was to succeed the Stoke No 1 in goal for the next campaign.
But that is not the case, according to Pulis, who said: “No, no one’s rung me up to ask about Asmir and if they did the price would be … I can’t even think. They’d have to spend a hell of a lot of money to take him away. I couldn’t even give you a price because I haven’t even thought about it.
“The fact we’ve signed Jack doesn’t mean we’re going to sell Asmir. I still think there’s more to come from Asmir. He’s going to get better. He’s been brilliant this year but there’s still more to come.
“Asmir, over the past two years, has just got better and better. I really do think he’s a top goalkeeper.”
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