£100m Rangers demand suggested for Jack Butland as transfer verdict emerges
Kris Boyd believes Rangers may be forced to sell Jack Butland this summer to help fund their squad overhaul.
Reports in Belgium have suggested that the goalkeeper wants to leave Ibrox after one season, having won the Scottish League Cup and the Player of the Year award at the club too.
Philippe Clement has admitted that he hopes for big changes within the playing squad during the summer window but after missing out on the league title, Boyd told Sky Sports ahead of their 5-2 win over Dundee (14 May) that he may need to sell Butland in order to fund that.
“The whole thing with bringing money in with Jack Butland, it might be something Rangers have to do if they’re going to have another rebuild because we’re all in agreement that this Rangers squad, at this moment in time, is not good enough to challenge Celtic,” he said.
“You look at Rangers right now and if they’re going to overtake Celtic they’re going to need more or less a brand new team, and to do that you might have to lose one or two you didn’t want to lose.
“I.e. if Tavernier has to go for money, if Butland has to go for money, you might just have to do that to bring in money to then go and rebuild.”
Host Eilidh Barbour then shared that Clement had recently claimed he didn’t want to sell Butland “for any price”, but pundit James McFadden defended his public stance.
“He’s not going to say come and get him, and then demand a high fee for him,” he said. “Obviously in an ideal world, they keep hold of Jack Butland for as long as they could because he’s been outstanding.
“He’s still young for a goalkeeper, he’s still got a decent length of time on his contract, but ultimately as Kris says, Rangers need a rebuild. It is a rebuild that’s required. The players that are leaving, of course free up some money, but the players under contract that you might want to leave might not be possible because of the contracts and that’s what happens.
“If you’re not successful and you don’t get the money for the league and Champions League, you have to cash in on your assets.
“I don’t think anyone of a Rangers persuasion would like to see Jack Butland go, but if you can get decent money, which I think you could because he’s still young, then the issue then becomes how do you invest that money?”
That led to Chris Sutton asking what “decent money” is for him and after Boyd listed off positive points about Butland, Sutton demanded a figure.
“You don’t [have to give a figure] because at the end of the day, Rangers could turn around and say they want £100m for him. They’re not going to get it,” he said. “So I don’t think you can put a number on somebody’s head because you need somebody to buy him.”
McFadden then chipped in with his own valuation, claiming Rangers should be demanding “more than £10m” to let him leave.
Rangers must get minimum £10m to let Jack Butland leave
Butland came in on a free transfer just a year ago, and after rejecting interest from Nottingham Forest in January, the club are now expecting more bids to come in this summer.
While he is clearly the best goalkeeper in the country, the club is bigger than any one player and there is a big job awaiting the manager during the transfer window to build a squad capable of competing at the highest level.
There are expected to be several exits during the window, with a host of players out of contract and more on the fringes of the team but that won’t bring in enough cash to rebuild with.
That means a big sale is necessary, and while James Tavernier and Connor Goldson have been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, there is nobody who could attract a bigger fee than Butland.
£100m is a joke figure, but an eight-figure fee should be seen as more than achievable for someone who is on the brink of the England squad again. It should be the bare minimum to even consider a deal, but should that fee come in then it must be looked at seriously.
In other Rangers news, one Ibrox star has confirmed he will leave the club after the 5-2 win over Dundee.
For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.