When Rangers manager Michael Beale was first linked with a move for Jack Butland, the response from the Ibrox faithful was underwhelming. A promising youngster who had won nine caps for England by the age of 25, there had been little in recent years to suggest that a masterstroke was about to be pulled.
Butland broke an ankle playing for his country in 2016 – a 3-2 victory over Germany in Berlin (when he was replaced on the night by former Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster) – and complications arising from that fracture, along with a subsequent neck injury, sidelined him for nearly a year.
He would represent England on two more occasions before being relegated with Stoke City in 2018, at which point he fell off the radar.
Stoke’s failure to return to the top tier saw him jump at a £1m move to Crystal Palace in 2020 but that did not prove to be the answer to his problems. He couldn’t displace first choice Vincent Guaita and by 2022/23 a broken finger saw him fall behind Sam Johnstone and Joe Whitworth in the Selhurst Park pecking order.
He joined Manchester United on loan in January as cover for David de Gea but spent the whole of last season without playing a minute of first-team football, hence the understated response to his arrival.
Ewan Chester, though, believes Butland could be the ideal man to replace club legend Allan McGregor. The man who was Rangers’ chief scout for over two decades knows what it takes to fill that specialist position at Ibrox, having helped bring the likes of Chris Woods, Andy Goram and Stefan Klos to Giovan.
He also worked in a similar role for Chris Hughton as Butland began to make a name for himself with Birmingham City as a teenager. Chester has watched a move to Celtic rejuvenate another former England shot-stopper in Joe Hart and sees no reason why Butland’s marriage with Rangers shouldn’t be just as beneficial for both parties.
“This move can re-invigorate Jack’s career in the same way [signing for Celtic] for Joe,” he claimed.
“His career had also stalled for a few years before he joined Celtic but he has a new lease of life now and regular first-team football at another big club can have that ef-fect on Jack.
“At Celtic or Rangers you need to prove yourself every week but he’ll arrive at the training ground expecting to be the No.1 and he has the experience and the men-tality to be a success.
“Knowledge of how to play the position tends to kick in later for goalkeepers than outfield players but Jack’s at the right age and he also has the character required to do the job.
“Even after being with Manchester United for half a season, though, I still believe he’ll be surprised by just how big a club Rangers is.”
Having made only ten Premier League appearances in the last three years, Butland clearly feels that playing regularly is more important than the superior wages he could have had at Old Trafford when United offered him a permanent deal two weeks ago.
Chester, though, believes that Butland’s barren trophy cabinet will have been just as big a factor when it came to accepting Beale’s offer.
“I watched the FA Cup final at Wembley last weekend and occasionally the TV camera would turn to United’s bench, where Jack was sitting,” he said.
“That was when it struck me he’d be picking up the first medal of his career in that game – as an unused sub in a final that had been lost.
“No wonder he was so keen to join Rangers. Up here he’ll play in front of 50,000 fans at every home game, be guaranteed European football every season and also have the chance of having some winner’s medals and that’s a huge attraction for most players.
“This move will have given him a big lift - it's a huge bonus for him.”
Chester revealed that the qualities required for Butland to become a favourite of the Rangers support have been evident since his earliest days as a professional and contends that his international experience will help him deal with the pressure of replacing an Ibrox icon.
"Rangers have been blessed with great goalkeepers over the years; Woods, Klos, Goram and, more recently, Allan McGregor,” he said.
“Greegsy has left big shoes to fill but Jack is at the right age to do just that. At 30, he’s still young for a ‘keeper but also experienced enough to know what’s required of him. Playing in goal for the Old Firm is difficult because most weeks you won’t have very much to do.
“Your team will usually have 70% possession and you may only have to make one save in the 90 minutes but it could be the most important one of the game.
“You can be inactive for an hour and then asked to do something spectacular so concentration and being strong mentally are two crucial qualities for that job and I think Jack ticks both boxes.”
