Stoke City: 'Jack Butland worth more than Jordan Pickford'

Stoke City chief executive Tony Scholes has suggested that his club would want significantly more than £30m if they were to sanction the sale of England goalkeeper Jack Butland.

Everton have paid £30m to sign stopper Jordan Pickford from Sunderland in this summer's transfer window, with the 23-year-old joining the Toffees for a club-record fee.

Butland has also been linked with a move away from his current club, although Scholes has claimed that the 24-year-old is "some way beyond Jordan Pickford" in a warning to interested teams.

"Jack's a very special talent. He's done extremely well for us and done well for England. I think most people objectively would argue he's some way beyond Jordan Pickford, I think, but that's not what we are thinking about," the Stoke Sentinel quotes Scholes as saying.

"We are thinking about what Jack can do for our football team and Jack is a key part of what we want to be next year. He's a player we missed last year, albeit Lee Grant came in and was magnificent and deservedly won the player-of-the-year award, but when you've got a player of Jack's quality you want him available for your team, don't you."

Injury restricted Butland to just five Premier League appearances during the 2016-17 campaign.