Jack Butland exit could be weeks away at Rangers with bids expected
Jack Butland could be “in the final weeks” of his time at Rangers, with Chris Jack fearful that the 30-year-old could move on if a suitable bid comes in.
Speaking on The Rangers Review, Jack was consigned to the idea that other teams will want to sign Butland, with bids set to arrive.
The Ibrox stopper won the Scottish Premiership’s Golden Glove award in his debut season at Ibrox, having conceded just 32 goals and kept a league-high 18 clean sheets.
Jack said: “There will be interest in (Butland), there will be bids for him. I still fear that he will be one who moves on if the money’s right.
“I think we’re potentially in the final weeks of Jack Butland’s Rangers career unfortunately.”
Jack Butland set for Rangers exit?
It’s hardly worth thinking about where Rangers would’ve been in the title race without Butland’s heroics at the back, playing every single minute of their Scottish Premiership campaign and conceding the second-least goals in the division.
Butland’s form was such that interest from Premier League clubs was already circling in January, and with the summer transfer window just weeks away from opening, the same clubs could come calling again.
Philippe Clement has enough of a rebuilding job on his hands with player departures set to be in double figures, and the Belgian will be hoping that Butland is not amongst that number.
The potential signing of Liam Kelly on a free transfer from Motherwell would provide something of an alternative should Butland depart, but he is seen more as a replacement for Jon McLaughlin, not the new number one.
It’s hard to build a side around a goalkeeper, but given just how good Butland has been this season, Clement will be looking to lay solid defensive foundations that could hinge on the Englishman staying put.
Rangers’ squad and starting XI will look wildly different come the first day of next season, but if there is one indispensable player who Clement and the club’s hierarchy will see as the keystone, it’s more than likely to be their number one.
In other Rangers news, the club are likely to lock horns with Celtic over the signing of a highly-rated left-back in the summer transfer window.
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