Former Stoke City manager Lou Macari has said the possibility of Jack Butland staying at the club this summer cannot be ruled out. 

The England international has been linked away from the club throughout the summer and after Stoke City failed to achieve promotion last season.

However, the Sun have reported that three Premier League clubs rumoured to be interested, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Sheffield United, are now wary of a deal for the goalkeeper.

Butland has been at Stoke since joining from Birmingham City in 2013 and has made 132 appearances for the club.

Speaking to the Stoke Sentinel, Macari said the current transfer market did not benefit Stoke's sale of the Englishman.

He said: "You have to say, the prospect of Butland remaining at Stoke for another season can’t be ruled out.

"Time will tell whether interested clubs are playing a waiting game and someone will eventually make a serious move.

"But from Stoke’s point of view, it’s a buyer’s market where Butland is concerned.

"Once it became obvious none of the big clubs would be buying a goalkeeper this summer, that ruled out a direct move for Butland himself and has also stifled the domino effect that might have created an opportunity for him lower down the food chain, so to speak.

"It also means there has been no goalkeeping move to set some kind of benchmark for what other goalkeepers like Butland could go for this summer.

"Aston Villa seem to be putting it out there that they are no longer interested.

"Time will tell if that really is the case, or they are just trying to squeeze Stoke and get them to lower their valuation."

The Verdict

At the start of the summer, it had looked extremely likely Butland would leave the Potters in this transfer window in pursuit of a return to the Premier League but it is increasingly looking like Butland will still be at the Bet365 Stadium for the upcoming season.

Jones has already stated that he wants to keep Butland and the shot-stopper's options for a route back to the top-flight appear to be dwindling, after Aston Villa were understood to have ended their interest and it was reported by the Stoke Sentinel that no offer had been made for the player by Bournemouth.

Despite the poor market in terms of Butland's value, the Potters are in a relatively strong position where goalkeeping options are concerned.

With Adam Davies joining from Barnsley and Adam Federici already at the club, Nathan Jones currently has three goalkeeping options in his senior squad, in addition to 18-year-old Josef Bursik who has returned from loan.