Pulis frustrated by no-show Begovic

Stoke manager Tony Pulis is to hold talks with Asmir Begovic after the Bosnian goalkeeper refused to play in the Potters’ League Cup win over Shrewsbury on Tuesday.

Begovic, who arrived at the Britannia Stadium last season from Portsmouth, has been linked with a move to top-flight rivals and Premier League champions Chelsea.

He was due to play against Shrewsbury but Pulis, speaking after his side’s 2-1 victory on Tuesday, revealed: “He said he did not want to play.

“I find that very disappointing. We pay his wages and he has a responsibility to the club. We have a lot of supporters who idolise this club and love it.

“We have a management team and people around who have been here a long time. They respect the club and like it as much as the supporters do. To do what he has done is totally disrespectful.

“Obviously people have been blowing in his ear. That goes on. I will have a chat with him.”

Asked if Begovic’s actions would speed up a possible transfer, Pulis added: “With our chairman (Peter Coates) it is less likely. I do not think Peter will be pushed around.

“We won’t be giving him (Begovic) away and doing a deal because of what he has done. There has been interest from one or two clubs but nowhere near our valuation. We think he is a good goalkeeper and we want good players.”

Begovic later contacted the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) to insist he had only missed the game because he felt he would not be able to fully focus on playing while he was considering his future.

PFA deputy chief executive Bobby Barnes told Sky Sports News: “Asmir was at great pains to make it clear to me and the wider public that at no stage had he actually said that he refused to play for the club.

“From Asmir’s point of view he says that he had a conversation with the manager in which he was asked whether he was 100 percent fit and ready to play.

“Asmir’s take is that he had indicated that his mind was a little bit scrambled by things and that probably if there was an alternative it would be best if he didn’t play.

“But he is at great pains to say at no stage did he say that he wouldn’t play, and had he been asked to play he would have done so.

“In this particular case – and I haven’t spoken to Tony (Pulis), who might have an alternative view – Asmir was adamant that he would have played if he was asked to play.

“But the question was ‘are you 100 percent able mentally to play?’ The answer has been a negative one and on that basis the manager has made a decision.”