Johnson set for Stoke switch

Mark Hughes has confirmed Glen Johnson is set to join Stoke City, while goalkeeper Asmir Begovic will move to Chelsea.

Begovic has been linked with a switch away from the Britannia Stadium in recent months and, as Hughes revealed to Sky Sports, will now aim to challenge Thibaut Courtois for a starting place at Stamford Bridge following Petr Cech’s departure to Arsenal.

Johnson, meanwhile, is a free agent after the expiry of his contract at Liverpool, having started just 15 Premier League games in 2014-15.

“Glen is a very experienced player and we feel the qualities he has will help us,” Hughes said.

“We’re a team that is trying to progress and do that by getting good players into the squad.

“Glen has played at a high level for a very long time and we can benefit from that.”

Hughes also revealed that Stoke’s attempts to capture Xherdan Shaqiri from Inter had failed, with the club giving up hope of landing the Switzerland international.

“We expressed interest and put a bid in, but we needed to set a deadline, because we have other irons in fire,” Hughes said.

“We’ve stepped aside and will move onto other things.”