Jack Butland has revealed that he chose to join Stoke City over Chelsea because he feels that the club will offer him a greater chance of improving as a goalkeeper.
The Birmingham keeper will join Tony Pulis's side at the end of the season and admitted that although Chelsea would represent a "fantastic place" to ply his trade, it is the Britannia Stadium that gives him a greater platform to progress.
"Chelsea is a fantastic club, it would attract any player and it certainly attracted me," the Daily Mail quotes Butland as saying.
"It is a fantastic place to play and they are the current Champions League winners. They are the European champions.
"But Stoke are a fantastic club for different reasons and somewhere I feel I can better develop my game at the minute. It is as simple as that. Chelsea didn't do anything wrong, I just didn't feel it was the right move for me and felt Stoke was."
Butland represented Team GB at last summer's Olympics.
Paul Gorst
