Michael Beale has claimed Rangers will announce a new signing inside 10 days and it will be a goalkeeper, leading to claims the Ibrox side have finally secured long-linked Crystal Palace stopper Jack Butland.
The links to Butland have been around for half a year, and after it was revealed by sources that Butland’s wage demands had scuppered the deal only for the ex-England stopper to reduce them, it appeared the contract was in place for the on-loan Manchester United number one to ratify.
It would be a big signing, a much higher calibre of talent between the sticks than Rangers have had there aside McGregor, and unfortunately for Robby McCrorie Butland’s arrival would spell the end of any hopes he has of being the first-choice stopper:
“He’s (Butland) still an option, yeah. You guys are on a wild goose chase and you are getting further away. We will announce a goalkeeper in the next 10 days or so I believe so it is pretty much done.”
Jack Butland would not be signing to sit on the bench, he’s done enough of that at Old Trafford.
The 30-year-old is in his peak goalkeeping years and will now demand to play, and Rangers are hoping to replicate Celtic’s success with fellow ex-England stopper Joe Hart and have ‘our own’ in the form of Butland.
Would Butland be a worthy successor to Allan McGregor? Yes, he certainly would. His CV, remarkably, surpasses McGregor’s, with significantly more Premier League outings (87 to McGregor’s 52) and 21 clean sheets to McGregor’s 13, so we are talking about a top top stopper of the calibre Rangers need to succeed Greegsy.
McCrorie, sadly, is nowhere near that level of CV yet, and it would call into question his chances of ever breaking through at Ibrox, despite impressive displays and 4 clean sheets of 5.
But Rangers fans expect top signings, and while there’s a little spot of being a tad underwhelmed by Kieran Dowell, Butland in the Rangers shirt would be much, much more along the lines of what the supporters need, and what the club needs.
Of course, there’s every chance we’re completely wrong, and it’s not Butland, Michael Beale has been doing his usual red herring piffle in the press about who it actually is, accusing the media of a ‘wild goose chase’ so time will reveal who it is.
But in 10 days Rangers should, hopefully, announce a goalkeeping addition.
Fingers crossed for Butland.