Glasgow Rangers have been given the perfect opening to bring Jack Butland to the Scottish Premiership, according to reports.
Is Jack Butland leaving Crystal Palace?
Butland first joined Crystal Palace from Stoke City back in 2020 but has only made 17 senior appearances since that time and was therefore sent out on loan to Manchester United at the start of the year for the remainder of the season.
However, the 30-year-old failed to record a single outing across all competitions last term, and with his contract set to expire this month, he’s currently set to become a free agent having not yet been offered the chance to extend his stay at Selhurst Park.
Speaking to Football FanCast, Dean Jones, transfer expert and journalist, claimed that Michael Beale is on the hunt for a new first-choice shot-stopper and the Eagles star is someone that he has “looked into”, with Fabrizio Romano since revealing that the Light Blues have held talks and are in “advancing” negotiations to bring him to Ibrox.
Are Rangers signing Butland?
According to The Sun, Rangers are now "clear" to sign Butland on a free transfer as a result of Crystal Palace having "passed on the chance" to trigger his one-year contract extension. The Teddy Bears have reportedly been "keen" on the goalkeeper for 12 months but have only started to pursue a deal in "recent weeks".
Rangers have confirmed that Allan McGregor will be leaving the club this summer upon the expiration of his deal so a replacement will need to be recruited, and having been hailed “confident” between the sticks by journalist Josh Bunting, Butland could be his ideal experienced successor.
The 6 foot 5 colossus, who’s sponsored by Nike, has kept 83 clean sheets from 293 appearances throughout his career and impressed at Palace when given the opportunity to showcase his talents during the 2021/22 campaign.
England’s former international, who earns £35k-per-week, made 16 saves from 28 shots on target against when in the net and displayed an extremely strong range of passing having completed 61 of 61 short passes and 108 of 108 medium passes, giving him a 100% success rate for both statistics, as per FBRef.
Football Insider have since reported that Butland is undergoing a medical on Monday after agreeing personal terms on a move north of the border, and if this is true, then he would be a fantastic acquisition and definite bargain for Rangers.
