Jack Butland embarrasses himself as Rangers footage emerges from Ajax
Jack Butland has received plenty of praise from fans and pundits alike since arriving at Rangers at the start of the 2023/24 season.
The former Stoke City man joined the club with little expectation following years of being second choice at clubs such as Crystal Palace and Manchester United.
This made a move to Ibrox viable and despite being with the club for just a season, he managed to engulf himself with the Rangers fanbase and become a cult hero.
There were even talks of him making an Ibrox exit just a year after joining [Rangers Review, 19 June].
Although his performances across the 2023/24 campaign were stellar, one of his first for the 2024/25 term hasn’t quite gone to plan.
Rangers entertained AFC Ajax on Saturday 13 July, losing 2-1 and Butland embarrassed himself with one moment, that has unfortunately been shared.
Jack Butland embarrasses himself in Rangers loss v Ajax
On paper, the matchup was quite fair, especially when the recent form of Ajax is taken into account.
The tie was fairly end to end but Butland’s blunder of spilling a free-kick into the back of his net was rightly the most talked-about section of the game.
Philippe Clement lined up a fairly strong team with the likes of Connor Goldson returning and Tom Lawrence scoring the only goal for the Bears.
And, although Butland wasn’t expected to have his starting spot taken from him this summer, he will need to make sure this embarrassment is a one-off.
Liam Kelly was welcomed to the club and although he admitted he likely won’t start too many games, the opportunity was too good for him to turn down [Rangers Review, 13 July].
The Gers’ pre-season friendlies could be one of the only chances that the Scotsman gets to prove his worth to Clement and could be season-defining for the 28-year-old.
Granted, one mistake won’t cause this to happen but Butland’s form is certainly something to keep an eye on before the start of the 2024/25 season.
In other Rangers news, an update has been shared amid the Gers’ quest for new attacking talent.
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