Asmir Begović certainly didn’t mince his words when he discussed his former club Stoke City’s current predicament in the Championship.
Stoke have endured a miserable start to the 2026/27 Championship season as they languish in 22nd place, with just three points from their opening four matches.
Since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018, the Potters have found it extremely tough to bounce back and haven’t finished in the top half of the table since they’ve been back in the Championship.
Begović, who played 173 times for Stoke and kept 50 clean sheets, believes a club of Stoke’s stature should be back in the Premier League and must be challenging for a play-off spot this season.
Stoke’s Championship stay ‘disappointing’
Begović told Hajper: “Stoke City is a club of that size, with the tradition and the fan base, where everything is there for them to be a Premier League club.
“The fact that they’ve been in the Championship for so many years and not really challenging for the top is disappointing.
“I don’t think they’ve even been in the play-offs since they’ve been down.
“From that aspect, you expect them to be challenging up there, and the expectation has to be to get in and around those play-off places this year.
“It absolutely has to be. There can’t be any doubt – that’s where the club deserves to be.”
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Begović highlights Ipswich feat
The former ’keeper continued: “Obviously, you need a few things to go your way to really make that happen and hopefully they will this year.
“It’s a club that needs to be challenging those top eight, being in and around there.
“When you’re in that mix and a couple of things go your way, you could achieve promotion.
“We’ve seen what happened with Coventry [City] and Hull [City] last year. It can happen, it can be done without a doubt.
“Look at Ipswich [Town] the year before, going from League One into the Championship and then the Premier League.”
Begović will be keeping a close eye on his former club Stoke as they look to gain some momentum in the Championship this term.
The Potters face Charlton Athletic at home on Saturday afternoon before a trip to Cardiff City awaits them next Tuesday evening.
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Michael Davey