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Glasgow Rangers could be set to lose one of their first-team players in January, with a BBC pundit claiming that he wouldn’t be able to refuse the opportunity to join the club who are interested in him.
Where are Rangers in the table?
In the Scottish Premiership, Philippe Clement’s side have made a mixed start to the new campaign having won five and lost three of their opening eight games under Michael Beale, now sitting seven points behind Celtic.
The Light Blues currently have six players away on international duty in the form of John Souttar, Borna Barisic, Ridvan Yilmaz, Jose Cifuentes, Abdallah Sima and Leon King, but that hasn’t stopped transfer circulation from speculating ahead of the upcoming window.
According to The Sun’s Alan Nixon, Birmingham City and more specifically Wayne Rooney are plotting a swoop for Jack Butland who only put pen to paper north of the border at the start of the year from Crystal Palace, and he’s had an instant impact between the sticks.
England’s former international has started all of the club’s league games this season and has firmly established himself as the official number one (WhoScored – Butland statistics), but with the 30-year-old’s impressive form comes attention from potential suitors.
Jack Butland transfer update
Speaking to Football League World in a transfer update on Jack Butland, BBC pundit Carlton Palmer admitted that the shot-stopper would love to complete a switch to Birmingham in January having played there earlier in his career. He said:
“Wayne Rooney is apparently looking to bring in former England colleague Jack Butland, the Glasgow Rangers goalkeeper. Jack started his career at Birmingham City, Jack joined Rangers after leaving Crystal Palace when Mick Beale took charge.
“I think Jack would jump at the chance of working under Wayne, and at 30, he’s six years younger than the current experienced Birmingham City goalkeeper John Ruddy.
“I don’t necessarily think Jack is a better goalkeeper than Ruddy but at 36 now, with Wayne looking to grow the club, the ages of the players will be an important factor and part of his thinking.”
How good is Jack Butland?
Standing at 6 foot 5, Butland is an absolute colossus in the net and his height has certainly contributed to keeping the ball out of danger in a physical league this season, as he’s already been dubbed a “world-class” goalkeeper by journalist Josh Bunting.
The Bristol-born talent has kept seven clean sheets in 16 appearances for the Teddy Bears since signing on the dotted line (Transfermarkt – Butland statistics), and with that impressive record, he’s also been doing some top draw shot-stopping which hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Butland, who earns £40k-per-week (Rangers salaries), has made 15 saves from 21 shots on target against over the course of the current campaign, giving him a 76.2% save success rate (FBRef – Rangers statistics), so it’s vital that chiefs do everything they can to fend off interest from Birmingham and retain their star’s services beyond January.
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