Last Updated: Mon, 11 Feb 2013 05:45
Jack Butland says he would like to sign for Chelsea one day despite snubbing a move to Stamford Bridge in favour of joining Stoke.
Chelsea were keen to land the 19-year-old goalkeeper and had agreed a fee with Birmingham only for the player to turn down the move before signing for the Potters.
At the time it was thought Butland was concerned about his first-team opportunities at Chelsea, where Petr Cech is number one, and the youngster has now confirmed the theory.
Butland, who has been loaned back to Birmingham for the rest of the season, will have more chance of playing regular football with Stoke as Asmir Begovic is heading for the exit door in the summer, although he has refused to rule out a move to Chelsea in the future.
"I had a bit of an awkward situation as a couple of the Chelsea players were asking me what the situation was," Butland revealed. "They were completely understanding with what I said, and that was that Chelsea are a fantastic club and I would have loved to have said 'yes' to them but I didn't feel they could guarantee me first-team football as early as I would like.
"I didn't feel it was the right move now so I simply said it wasn't for me, thank you, and maybe we can do something in the future."
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