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Ryan James Shawcross (born 4 October 1987) is an English footballer who plays as
a defender for Stoke City and the England national team.
Shawcross began his career with Manchester United and made his debut for the club against Crewe
Alexandra in the Football League Cup; he then spent time on loan at Belgian feeder club Royal Antwerp. He joined Stoke City on loan in August 2007 and made an instant impact scoring on his debut
against Cardiff City. His good form prompted Stoke to pay Manchester United £1 million in January
2008 to keep him at the Britannia Stadium. He formed a good defensive partnership with Leon
Cort as Stoke gained promotion to the Premier League for the first time, ending 23 years away from
the top flight.
Despite making a bad start to Premier League football, Shawcross established himself as firstchoice centre-back along with Abdoulaye Faye. Stoke comfortably stayed up, and after another midtable finish in 2009–10,