The Stoke City manager Mark Hughes believes that Jack Butland’s loan spell at Barnsley will benefit him as he will get regular playing opportunities there.

Butland who is just 20 years of age at the moment was placed on loan to Barnsley a couple of days ago for a brief period of 3 months.

Talking to the reporters on Friday, Hughes said, “We were always looking to place Jack on loan so that he could get playing chances regularly. He is a superb shot stopper and we have massive hopes with him.”

Meanwhile, Stoke’s first choice goalkeeper Asmir Begovic is in news too. There have been a few reports that he is on the radar of a couple of big clubs i.e. Napoli and Atletico Madrid.

When asked about that, Hughes said, “I am not surprised to hear all this. Asmir is a fine keeper and that’s why he is wanted by the clubs. However, I don’t have any idea about the credibility of these reports.”

When asked about his team’s win against Tranmere Rovers on Wednesday, Hughes said, “We showed a lot of improvement in that game and that was fantastic to see. We need to keep getting better.”

Stoke City’s performance in the ongoing Premier League has been decent so far. Out of their 5 games, they have won 2; have lost 2 and in the remaining 1, they have shared points. They are currently at the 9th position in the points table.

When asked about his team’s performance in the League matches so far, Hughes said, “It has been a mixed start for us. We haven’t set the world on fire, but, we haven’t been that poor either. The upcoming games are very important. We need to secure points.”