Bojan clause speculation is mischief making, says Stoke boss Mark Hughes

By Mark Ashenden

Image: Bojan has scored twice in Stoke's last four Premier League games

Bojan having a £10m release clause in his Stoke contract is nonsense, says manager Mark Hughes.

The Spaniard, who spent his youth career at Barcelona and played 163 times for the club, moved to the Britannia at the beginning of last season and has impressed on the Premier League stage.

It has been a stunning turnaround after his serious knee injury and with the team preparing for Tuesday's Capital One Cup semi-final with Liverpool, Hughes has rubbished claims he is set to offload his ex-Barcelona playmaker.

"Obviously there's a lot of speculation at this time of year - every club gets it," Hughes said.

"There's a lot of misinformation. There's no clause. There's no intention or desire from us or the player and his people.

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"He's very happy here and we are very happy with him. There is no clause - there's a bit of mischief making going on there."

There have also been some reports that some of the world's biggest clubs are keen on in-form winger Marko Arnautovic, but Hughes seems unwilling to do business for one of his biggest stars.

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With his contract expiring next season, Hughes said talks over a new deal are ongoing, adding: "We've had conversations. Marko is one of those players we want to extend. It's taking a little longer but it is what it is. The intention is to keep hold of our best players."

The 25-year-old Bojan has scored five times in the Premier League this season to help steer his team up to 10th, only seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham.

Just before Christmas, Bojan defended his team's expansive tactics and told Sky Sports they were not trying to play like Barcelona.

Ex-Barcelona man Bojan speaks about adapting to life in Stoke

Bojan said: "It's different styles of course, me and Marc Muniesa came here from Barcelona, and it is very different, but we know we have to play like Stoke City.

"We want to play football, nice football. To play like Barcelona is difficult, we don't want to do that. We want to play, enjoy football, and of course win the game."

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