Fortuna Sittard have dropped a hint that Ivan Pandur will not be joining Rangers this summer as the Scottish Premiership giants target a goalkeeper capable of replacing Allan McGregor at Ibrox.
Late last month, Rangers manager Mick Beale indicated that a new shot-stopper could be unveiled on the blue side of Glasgow within ‘the next ten days’.
That was nine days ago. But while Beale may be about to miss his deadline, the signs still look good; the Daily Mail reporting that Crystal Palace’s out-of-contract Manchester United loanee Jack Butland held a new round of talks with the Premiership runners-up this week.
The arrival Butland, a former team-mate of Celtic glovesman Jack Hart for both club and country, should offset the loss of the highly-experienced McGregor. Furthermore, at the age of 30 and with nine England caps under his belt, the former Birmingham City, Stoke and Leeds United stopper looks well placed to handle the pressure that comes with life in the Glasgow goldfish bowl.
Butland is, metaphorically and literally, the definition of a ‘safe pair of hands’.
Will Jack Butland be Rangers’ next goalkeeper?
Ivor Pandur, in comparison, would have come with a far greater risk. A 23-year-old who has only played one season of regular first-team football since breaking through at HNK Rijeka in 2019/20, Rangers scouted Pandur during Fortuna Sittard’s recent Eredivisie clash with PSV Eindhoven (Daily Mail).
But, after triggering the option-to-buy clause to turn his loan deal from Hellas Verona into a permanent transfer, Fortuna have dropped a further indication that Pandur’s future remains in the Netherlands; letting his back-up, Yanik van Osch, leave for SC Cambuur. Thus, strengthening Pandur’s grip on the number one shirt.
It’s certainly hard to imagine that Fortuna would have green-lit Van Osch’s departure if they felt Pandur would follow him out the door.
“Ivor has developed fantastically this season,” Fortuna director Sjoerd Ars beams. “He is a top professional, works hard every day and always with a big smile.”
“I think that he a very mature goalkeeper,” adds one-time AZ Alkmaar keeper Sieb Dijkstra (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.”
