Shawcross accepts new Stoke deal

Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross has committed his future to the Potters by agreeing a new five-and-a-half-year contract.

The 25-year-old has been one of Stoke’s biggest assets in their four-and-a-half seasons in the Barclays Premier League and manager Tony Pulis was desperate to tie him to a new deal.

Pulis said: “It’s fantastic for us as a football club. We’re really, really pleased to have him.

“He’s been the bedrock of what we’ve been trying to do over the past five or six years and we’re really pleased that he’s finally agreed.”