With Jack Butland excelling between the sticks at Rangers, the criticism that has come the way of Mick Beale’s new forwards cannot be aimed at the man who’s rapid-fire reactions have saved his new club more often than Batman has saved Gotham City since his summer arrival from Crystal Palace.
And Butland’s fine form means Rangers can afford the luxury of looking back on their interest in one Ivor Pandur without any real regrets.
If the former Manchester United loanee had not been quite so impressive, Rangers’ missing out on Pandur to the tune of just £1.6 million may have become quite the narrative.
According to the Daily Mail, the Glasgow giants sent scouts to watch Pandur in action for Fortuna Sittard against PSV Eindhoven late last term, before opting for the more experienced option that was Butland instead.
Rangers scouted Eredivisie ace Ivor Pandur
Nearly ten years the Englishman’s junior – and almost young enough to be Allan McGregor’s offspring – Pandur certainly would have been a risky acquisition for one of the most high-pressure positions in British football. But the 23-year-old’s superb early season form over in the Netherlands surely means that, while Rangers opted to look elsewhere, someone will take a punt on Pandur sooner rather than later.
The Fortuna Sittard ‘stopper is, as Croatian website Dnevno put it, ‘in the form of life’ right now. His performances have been ‘excellent’ throughout the campaign, to quote Sportske Novosti.
In fact, only one Croatian in the whole of Europe is averaging a higher Opta rating (Hoffenheim striker Andrej Kramaric). Pandur is higher in the standings than Josko Gvardiol, Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and co.
‘In the form of his life’
Fortuna, who signed Pandur permanently in the summer after a loan spell at Rijeka, have lost only one of their first seven Eredivisie games in 2023/24. Pandur even has clean sheets against Ajax and reigning champions Feyenoord to his name, his commanding displays only adding to the feeling that the Croatia U21 international will soon be ready to make the next step.
“I think that he a very mature goalkeeper,” Sieb Dijkstra, the former Motherwell and AZ Alkmaar goalkeeper, tells Soccer Nieuws. “I would put him at PSV and also at Ajax, by the way.
“It is of course a (big) difference whether you are the goalkeeper at Fortuna or at the top level. But he exudes so much peace and confidence.
“And he is only 23! In terms of his appearance, he comes across as experienced.”
