PHILIPPE Clement has vowed to fight to keep Jack Butland at Rangers amid persistent speculation that new Birmingham City manager Wayne Rooney is set to table a bid for his former England team mate in January.
Butland performed superbly for the Ibrox club once again in the Europa League match against Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic on Thursday night and helped the visitors to draw 0-0 and earn a valuable Group C point.
Clement has been impressed with the impact the former Birmingham, Stoke City and Crystal Palace player, who has been the pick of the summer signings by far, has made both on and off the park since replacing Michael Beale as manager earlier this month.
He compared the Englishman to former Sunderland, Liverpool and Belgium keeper Simon Mignolet, who he worked with during his trophy-laden spell in charge of Club Brugge in his homeland, and revealed he would like to build his team around the nine-times capped 30-year-old.
However, Manchester United and England legend Rooney, who took over at St Andrew’s earlier this month, is eager to strengthen his squad during the next transfer window and has been repeatedly linked with Butland, who he played alongside at international level.
The man who spent last season on loan at Old Trafford did not cost Rangers any money as his contract at Selhurst Park had expired and the ex-Derby County and DC United manager is hopeful he can lure him to the Championship for an affordable fee.
"Jack is going to be one of the key figures to build a team around for the next couple of years, yes. It's clear, when you have a s*** goalkeeper, you can't have success! That's very clear. That is the same for every manager.
"Of course you have to keep clean sheets. That's not down to the goalkeeper or defence, it's the whole team working together. But to have real success and to win trophies, you need to have somebody who gives the team a life in the difficult moments. Jack did that in the first half in Prague and he will do it again in the future.
"He will also make mistakes. That is part of being a goalkeeper. But what I like most about him is his personality. He is a winner. Jack has a strong mindset and I like to have these characters in my dressing-room.”
Clement added: "There are a lot of comparisons between Jack and Mignolet. They are both calm and have a lot of confidence. They are also there in the big moments and for me, that is very important.
“To have a really great team, you need to find figures that are there in the difficult moments. That is very important when you are creating a winning team. You need these personalities."
