Jack Butland could be set to remain in the Championship at Stoke City, with a number of Premier League clubs wary of a move for the goalkeeper, The Sun have reported.

Top tier trio Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Sheffield United have all been linked with the 26-year-old, but all are thought to be reluctant about a move for a number of reasons.

It is claimed that Bournemouth will have to sell Asmir Begovic before they are able to make a move for Butland, but with no clubs willing to pay the Bosnian's £80,000 a week wages and three years remaining on his contract at the Vitality Stadium, it is apparently unlikely that that will be happening anytime soon.

Newly promoted pair Aston Villa and Sheffield United meanwhile are thought to be exploring more affordable options, with Stoke reportedly rating Butland at £20million.

Villa are said to be interested in signing Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton, while Sheffield United are hopeful of another move for Dean Henderson from Manchester United.

Since joining Stoke from Birmingham in 2013, Butland has made a total of 133 appearances in all competitions for the Potters, and has two years remaining on his contract at the bet365 Stadium.

The verdict

This will be a hugely difficult situation for Butland to be in.

The 'keeper will know that his best chance of getting back into the England side will be through playing in the Premier League, and it is unlikely to help him that it is two other English 'keepers who are being targeted by those sides linked with him.

You feel he may be regretting the length of his contract at the bet365 Stadium now, as it will be some time yet until he is able to simply walk away from the club, by which time the interest in him may have decreased somewhat.

Given the speculation around his future has hung around for some time now, it will be interesting to see just how much Butland does feature for Stoke if he is still at the club at the start of the season, particularly following the signing of Adam Davies from Barnsley.