Jack Butland admits he’s "raring to go" for both club and country after being given the number one spot at Stoke City for the new season.
The England goalkeeper was told by Potters boss Mark Hughes earlier this week that he will be starting the campaign as first-choice at the Britannia Stadium.
Butland played his first game of pre-season in Saturday’s Asia Trophy victory over a Singapore Select XI, after being given an extended summer break following his involvement in England Under-21s’ Euro Finals campaign.
Butland has been told he will be Stoke City's first-choice keeper this season
And the 22-year-old stopper says he can’t wait for the competitive action of the Premier League to start again back on home soil next month.
"I've had a short break, but a good one," he revealed.
"Now I'm raring to go and can't wait for the season to begin and putting my claim down for the number one spot.
"I believe I'm capable of doing it and I'm looking forward to getting some game time."
Despite the disappointment of England's group stage exit at the U21 Euros last month, the former Birmingham City youngster remains keen to quickly put that behind him and focus on progression to Roy Hodgson's senior squad.
The Finals in Czech Republic earlier this summer were Butland’s fifth experience of a major international competition with the Three Lions, after previously travelling to the Euro U17 Finals of 2010 in Liechtenstein, the U20 World Cup 2011 in Colombia, Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine and the U21 Euro Finals of 2013 in Israel.
And the former Cheltenham Town, Barnsley, Leeds United and Derby County loanee is already targeting another summer trip away with England next year, should Hodgson's men qualify for the next Euro Finals which will be held in France in 2016.
"I want to be Stoke's number one and I want to be England's number one as well," he added.
"That's something that can only happen if I am playing regularly in the Premier League and playing well and that's certainly a target in mind.
"The European Championships is next summer and that's where I want to be, back in the England squad and I want to be in that tournament next year."
With the summer additions of veteran keeper Shay Given and Danish youngster Jakob Haugaard at Stoke, Butland knows he will be pushed hard for his place this season.
Butland has represented England at U16, U17, U19, U20, U21 and senior level
But much like his team though, the Bristol-born stopper is hoping that competition can challenge him to an improvement in the club’s overall campaign.
"It's the same again – another top-10 finish and keep up that rate of improvement," he explained.
"That's what we did last year and we want to better it again.
"I can only judge myself by performances. I want to get back in the England squad and to do that I need to play well. For me it's about taking each game as it comes.
"We've brought in Shay Given and Jakob Haugaard. There's good competition and you need that to drive each other on.
"It's really important not just in the goalkeeping department, but across the whole team. That's what we've got and it bodes well for the season."
