Rangers: Jack Butland snub looks even more ridiculous as England make James Trafford decision
The omission of Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland from the England squad raised more than a few eyebrows around Ibrox.
Butland, after all, has been in superb form for the Gers since joining as a free agent in the summer transfer window.
After initial reports emerged of him being included, it was surprising that his name was not on the confirmed list for this month’s friendlies with Brazil and Belgium at Wembley.
That decision now looks even more baffling if a report from the Daily Mail’s online edition on Sunday (24 March) is anything to go by.
The publication reported that James Trafford has now been promoted from the Under-21s set-up to replace Sam Johnstone in the senior side.
England manager Gareth Southgate could never have predicted Johnstone would have dropped out of the side, of course.
However, the strange decision to call up Johnstone – and to a lesser extent Aaron Ramsdale – in the first place is now proving costly.
It may only be a friendly against Belgium left to come, but England will now have Trafford – dropped by a terrible Burnley side last week – among their substitutes.
Meanwhile, Butland will no doubt be watching on television from home and wondering why he is so far down the pecking order.
In many ways, from a selfish perspective, the fact Butland is resting up and not involved with England could be a good thing for Rangers.
All Gers fans really care about is the 31-year-old being raring to go against Hibernian on our return to action next weekend.
In other Rangers news, the Gers could be in line for a financial windfall if an update from Fabrizio Romano is anything to go by.
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