Jack Bonham joined Stoke City in the summer of 2021, penning a two-year contract after his deal with Gillingham expired.

The stopper made significant progress during his two-season spell with the Gills, where he made more than 80 league and cup appearances and established himself as a key figure.

Bonham, who hails from Stevenage but played international football with the Republic of Ireland at Under 17 level, started his career with Watford but made just one senior appearance – as a substitute against Leeds United in May 2013.

During his time at Vicarage Road he had a spell on loan in non-league football with Harrow Borough but that was cut short when he broke a hand.

Following his release by Watford, he signed a two-year contract with Brentford but again he found first team opportunities hard to come by.

In fact, he made just seven appearances in six years with the West London club but gained further valuable experience in a number of loans, including productive spells with Carlisle United and Bristol Rovers with whom he made more than 40 appearances for each.

Further regular first-team action came his way following his arrival at Gillingham in 2019 as he established himself as first choice in Steve Evans’ plans, leading to the offer of a new contract which he rejected in favour of a move to the bet365 Stadium.