Sport
Ironic Premier League transfer hint
Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland claimed that a transfer move to Premier League Nottingham Forest in January “was a no on all fronts from the get go”.
The England international hopeful – who could be the first Ibrox player since Paul Gascoigne to be called up to the Three Lions squad – also hinted it’ll take something special to prise him away from Ibrox.
Jack Butland has been a revelation for Rangers since joining the club in the summer with the nine-times capped England star spending the last few years in the Premier League wildnerness.
But as the goalkeeper begins to grow into an important role in the Rangers squad, it’s clear the transfer interest was a non-starter from the off.
Jack Butland on Nottingham Forest transfer interest
Jack Butland was speaking to BBC Sport about reports surrounding potential interest in his services from Nottingham Forest in January.
Whilst there was no mention of the Premier League side specifically, it’s no secret that the City Ground club enquired about the goalkeeper’s services last month.
In stirring comments, Butland claims that he still has too much to do at Rangers and that for the time being at least, there’s nowhere he’d rather be.
“It was a no on all fronts from the get go,” said Butland. “I’m enjoying it,” he said. “There’s too much to achieve, there’s too much left to do.
“Here has been a feeling and a connection I’ve not felt with a club for a long time. You don’t give that up easy.”
Rangers goalkeeper finding himself at Ibrox
Once one of English football’s brightest young talents, Jack Butland’s career has taken a few difficult turns in the recent seasons.
After a switch to Crystal Palace from Stoke City in 2020 – Butland aiming to retain his Premier League status as a goalkeeper – things didn’t go to plan, making only 17 appearances in three years.
A loan stint at boyhood club Manchester United in the second half of last season also failed to herald an appearance and Jack Butland appeared destined for a career as a second-string goalie south of the border.
But with Michael Beale selling the Blue Sea of Ibrox to Jack Butland in the summer, it’s been a match made in heaven for Rangers and the goalkeeper.
The transition from club legend Allan McGregor has been seamless, whilst Butland has finally found a stage and a club with a stature more befitting his elite level abilities.
How ironic it is now that the Premier League and the likes of Nottingham Forest are only now watching Jack Butland, with Rangers surely demanding somewhere in the £20m region for his services.
From an Ibrox point of view, after a series of disastrous signings at Ibrox there’s also a hint of irony that Nottingham Forest sporting director Ross Wilson would return to his former club to sign one of best transfers of the last five years.
