Stoke City confident Begovic will sign new contract

Stoke City are confident they can convince Asmir Begovic to extend his stay at the Britannia Stadium.

The club are hopeful they can match Begovic's ambitions and think he'll continue to grow in the Premier League despite other European teams expressing interest in the Bosnian goalkeeper's services.

With just over 12 months remaining on his contract, Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes says staying at the club will benefit Begovic, thanks to the various players of equal talent who share similar ambitions.

"Clearly Asmir is a terrific goalkeeper and we are very keen to keep him at the club," he told The Sentinel. "I think when you've got extremely good players it is only natural that there will be speculation about their future.

"These players are also very ambitious and I include Asmir in that. He is a very focused, very talented and very ambitious young man.

"He wants to make sure he can play at the very best levels his abilities will enable him to and to have a very good and successful career in the game. We hope that we can fulfill all of those things at Stoke City."

Begovic, 27, signed with Stoke City in 2010 and has gone on to feature as the first choice 'keeper. He's kept seven clean sheets through 30 Premier League matches, and could help Stoke finish in the top half of the table.

However, keeping the club in the top 10 of the Premier League will likely fall short of Begovic's career goals. He would likely prefer to play in Europe's biggest tournaments in order to advance his career and reputation as an elite goalkeeper.