Former Stoke captain John Eustace spoke of his regret at leaving the Britannia Stadium after a four-and-a-half year stint at the club.The 28-year-old admitted he had asked about a new contract with the Potters before Watford managed to secure his services on deadline day on a two-and-a-half-year deal for an initial fee of £250,000.

"I tried to sort out a contract at Stoke a couple of weeks ago, but they never got back to me," Eustace told the Sentinel.

"I've had a lot of injuries in my career and was going to be out of contract at the end of the season.

"I think the club would have waited until then before offering anything, but I could have got injured before then and so needed the security Watford were offering.

"I'm gutted I've left, I would have loved to have stayed at Stoke. I definitely want Stoke to get promoted this year, I'm sincere about that."

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