Shay Given completed his move to Stoke City and the 39 year old Irish shot-stopper will have to battle with Jack Butland for a starting role in his new club.
Even though Shay Given is 17 years older than Butland, the veteran player said that he will be giving it his all and he is prepared to do everything it takes to snatch a consistent spot at the Britannia Stadium.
“Obviously Jack Butland is an excellent goalkeeper. He’s an Under-21 international for England so he’s got a big future. So yeah, there is competition for places but it’s the same in every club and you need that competition. I’m delighted to be here.”
Asmir Begovic was the former star goal-keeper of Stoke City but Begovic was offloaded to Chelsea and now Mark Hughes decided to bring in Shay Given as a way to provide competition for his younger shot-stopper Jack Butland and depending on who plays better or is available to play, having 2 active goal-keepers who are willing to show their worth, this is a good option for Hughes to not have to depend on just 1 shot-stopper for an extended period of time.
Before Shay Given completed his move to Stoke City, it was believed that he was going to make a move to the English Championship League club Middlesbrough FC but Stoke City arrived and swooped the veteran player up. Given gave thanks to the supporters of Middlesbrough as he played with the club for a few months by serving as a cover to Jason Steele who was injured.
During Given’s stay in Middlesbrough, he managed to keep 10 clean sheets in 16 league games which is very impressive but despite his noteworthy stay in the club, Given said that he couldn’t turn down the chance to continue competing in the Premier League and that’s why Shay Given decided to make a last minute move to Stoke City.