Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers has joined Stoke City on a season-long loan.
The Cherries have confirmed the 24-year-old’s temporary exit via the club’s official website, thanking him for playing a prominent role in the 2021/22 promotion-winning Championship season.
It’s Travers’ third loan move in six years. He featured for Weymouth in 2017/18 and Swindon Town in the second half of the 2020/2021 campaign before returning to the Vitality Stadium.
Upon his return, the Irishman helped Bournemouth regain the Premier League status, racking up an eye-catching 20 clean sheets in 45 Championship matches.
Neto’s arrival from Barcelona at the start of last season demoted Travers to the bench, with the 34-year-old Brazilian nailing down a starting berth under ex-boss Gary O’Neil.
New manager Andoni Iraola has a decision to make after completing the signing of Andrei Radu from Inter Milan on a season-long loan earlier this week.
At 34, Neto can still offer a reliable option between the sticks, but the Romanian goalkeeper was impressive at Auxerre last season despite the club’s relegation from Ligue 1.
With Darren Randolph expected to be Iraola’s third-choice keeper, the time has come for Travers to leave for regular first-team football.
Stoke mostly relied on Jack Bonham last season, with Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Matija Sarkic playing second fiddle to the former Watford goalkeeper.
After Sarkic’s return to Molineux, Alex Neil’s side needed a new back-up stopper, with Travers expected to fill the vacancy, although he could challenge Bonham for a starting role.
Neil’s men finished 16th in the Championship last season despite conceding 54 goals in 46 league games, fewer than any other team to have ended the season in the bottom half of the table.
Travers is Stoke’s third loan signing this summer after Portuguese winger Chiquinho and re-signed defender Ki-Jana Hoever arrived from Wolverhampton.
In addition to that trio, Andre Vidigal, Enda Stevens, Ben Pearson, Michael Rose and Daniel Johnson have signed permanent contracts.
