Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic ready to fight for place

Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic said he is ready to challenge Thomas Sorensen for a first-team spot next season.

Begovic played in the final four matches of last term while Sorensen recovered from a dislocated elbow.

He told BBC Radio Stoke: "We both want to play and we'll see what happens, but my intentions are obviously to play.

"Those are things that other people decide and I'm sure there will be talks over the summer. If I'm not playing, I'll be battling hard for sure."

Begovic joined the Potters from Portsmouth in February for £3.25m, but had to wait 25 April before making his debut for the club.

The Bosnia-Hercegovina international, 22, replaced the injured Sorensen in the first half against Chelsea, but could not prevent Stoke falling to a 7-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

It's going to take a lot of things to get the job done, but all the best to them Asmir Begovic on Portsmouth's FA Cup final chances against Chelsea

He also conceded four goals against Manchester United on the final day of the season, although Begovic kept clean sheets in his other two appearances against Everton and Fulham.

Meanwhile, Begovic has said he will be watching his former club in action in the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday.

"It's a big game for them and a tough task because Chelsea are on fire at the moment," continued Begovic.

"They've had a great run so far, they've knocked out some big teams, and on the day you never know what could happen.

"It's going to take a lot of things to get the job done, but all the best to them."

Begovic played in both ties for Portsmouth against Coventry in the third round, and in the victory over Sunderland in round four, before making the switch to the Britannia Stadium.

Stoke refused to cover Spurs payment for Asmir Begovic

Stoke City have revealed they refused to cover the £1m payment that Tottenham made to Portsmouth for the transfer of goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

Spurs paid the money up front as part of a joint deal for Begovic, who ended up joining Stoke, and Younes Kaboul.

Begovic is yet to make a first-team appearance for Stoke City

Stoke chairman Peter Coates told BBC Radio Stoke: "We were aware of that during the negotiations.

"They [Portsmouth] wanted us to pay more to compensate for that, but we weren't prepared to do that."

Begovic joined Stoke on transfer deadline day for £3.25m, although Kaboul did complete his move to White Hart Lane during the transfer window.

The debt to Tottenham over a player who never played for the White Hart Lane club was one of the dealings revealed on Wednesday when the full list of Portsmouth's £119m debts was made public.

It had been incorrectly suggested the £1m Tottenham were owed was some kind of sell-on clause, but Spurs have insisted they came to the arrangement with Portsmouth to try to help the debt-ridden club, and the say they are justified in their debt demand.

Sorensen handed injury boost

Stoke City goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen is expected to be fit for Denmark's World Cup campaign despite dislocating his elbow against Chelsea.

The 33-year-old international number one was stretchered off during Sunday's 7-0 thrashing at Stamford Bridge with an injury which was believed to threaten his participation in the upcoming tournament in South Africa.

An operation would almost certainly have ended his World Cup hopes with the start of the tournament now just six weeks away.

However, despite revealing that Sorensen will definitely miss the last two games of Stoke's season, with deputy Asmir Begovic set to step into the starting line-up, Potters boss Tony Pulis has suggested the injury blow is not as bad as was first feared.

"If he had needed an operation, he'd have struggled to make the World Cup, but there is some encouraging news in that it was put back without the need for that," said Pulis.

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