Transfer guru Nicolò Schira has this morning claimed Jack Butland is ‘one step away’ from Rangers as a free agent from July, amid Rangers’ continuing links with the former England goalkeeper.
With Allan McGregor, Jon McLaughlin and Robby McCrorie’s futures all up in the air, Rangers will certainly be requiring new talent between the sticks, something good enough for the Scottish Premiership next season, and particularly, good enough to surpass Celtic.
Butland, 30, will be a free agent this summer and once being worth around £20M he’s a lucrative one, not to mention the fact he’s extremely experienced in the Premier League with 87 appearances.
Currently on loan at Manchester United from Crystal Palace, Butland wants a change of pace and scene and is said to be interested in the switch north to Ibrox, meaning the Old Firm will have two ex-England goalkeepers going head to head.
His Premier League experience comes from Stoke and Palace, and he has 161 Championship outings under his belt too, he’s about as good a talent as Rangers could have between the sticks at this point. The price, £0, is also ideal as well given the Ibrox side’s finances.
Butland is certainly the level we need moving forward, with Ibrox Noise’s doubts about Kieran Dowell more than well-documented.
But Schira claims it’s getting very close now, and maybe we’ll hear an announcement fairly soon?
We would assume Butland is to be the new number one, but we will need even more between the sticks than just he if we’re to have the quality in depth.
Goalie is hard – it’s tricky to have two marquee goalies at once because someone usually has to be the deputy. Butland wouldn’t be coming here to sit on the bench, although we’re still staggered McLaughlin not only has the audacity to, but actually managed to become number one at one point…
So unless McCrorie is to be his understudy, and we’re starting to give up on him ever making it at this club, we’ll still need another stopper to complete the set – usually first choice, deputy and third choice. We’ll see.
Watch this space.