Rangers: Gareth Southgate wrong to snub Jack Butland once more as injury news emerges
Rangers manager Philippe Clement will simply be hoping that his international players return home safe and sound from the current break.
But one player that he doesn’t have to worry about is goalkeeper Jack Butland, with the Ibrox number one not involved with England, despite both his form and strong speculation about a return to the Three Lions setup.
Manager Gareth Southgate instead turned to Everton’s Jordan Pickford, Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale and Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone.
Pickford is undoubtedly the nation’s number one, while Johnstone has impressed in a tricky campaign for the Eagles, but Ramsdale has not played much football lately due to his number two status in North London.
A return to the England squad for Butland would have, therefore, certainly made sense, but it wasn’t meant to be for the 31-year-old.
Rangers ace Jack Butland handed further England blow
And he has now been handed a further blow, with Southgate opting to promote Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford from the England Under-21s following an injury to Johnstone [Daily Mail, 24 March].
Again, it is a strange decision, with Trafford having just been dropped by the Clarets amid their Premier League struggles.
The 21-year-old has conceded a staggering 62 goals from his 28 appearances this season, with just two clean sheets to his name [Transfermarkt].
There is, of course, a difference in quality between the Premier League and the Scottish Premiership, and Trafford isn’t to blame for all of those goals, but Butland’s figures are at the other end of the scale.
The Ibrox star boasts 23 clean sheets from his 47 matches in all competitions this season, with just 36 goals conceded [Transfermarkt].
As per the official SPFL website, Butland sits top of the pile with 17 clean sheets in the league, with Rangers bottom of the list when it comes to goals conceded (16).
In other Rangers news, Fabio Silva’s stock has risen higher after what happened for Portugal Under-21s recently.
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