Coates expects Shawcross stay

[CDev]

Chairman Peter Coates insists Ryan Shawcross will still be a Stoke City player next season.

A number of clubs, including Manchester United and Liverpool, have been linked with a move for Shawcross over the past 12 months.

The defender's stock has risen after an impressive campaign in which he broke into the England squad and was named Stoke's young player of the season.

With new rules coming into force next season meaning that Premier League clubs must have eight "home-grown" players in a squad of 25, English talent is in particular demand this summer.

However, Shawcross signed a new contract in November to keep him at Stoke until 2014 and Coates is confident the 22-year-old is going nowhere.

"We voted for the new rule because we believe it will be good for football and will help teams to develop their own players," the Potters chairman told The Sentinel.

"I am all for young English players being in demand, but we rate Ryan very highly and I am sure he will be playing for us next season."