Jack Butland seemed certain to get a recall to England’s international squad after impressing almost since day one after signing for Rangers.
Gers boss Philippe Clement was adamant he would get the nod, as was most of the English press including Sky Sports, however, Gareth Southgate decided to stay loyal to Aaron Ramsdale despite his lack of game time for Arsenal.
Nick Pope is set to return for Newcastle United which should see him recalled, however, there has been an update that could give Jack Butland hope of being England’s first Rangers player since Paul Gascoigne.
Jack Butland needs to maintain Rangers form after England news
The Daily Mail’s chief football reporter has revealed that Crystal Palace number one Sam Johnstone will be out for around 15 weeks, ruling him out of this summer’s European Championships.
As with the recent squad, again, this means that there is one place up for grabs.
Rangers fans all know who the contenders are.
When Johnstone pulled out of this squad, it was Burnley’s James Trafford who got the nod another who was linked with a move to Ibrox.
Does this make Butland fifth, or even sixth choice? Probably not, the former Man City keeper was lucky based on the fact that he was already with the Under-21’s at St George’s Park.
After conceding 62 goals in 28 games, he is no longer Burnley’s first choice and Vincent Kompany has taken him out of the firing line.
A move that will probably benefit him in the long term, if he recovers.
Southgate needs to make Ramsdale decision
Then, there is Aaron Ramsdale, the player somewhat controversially preferred to Jack Butland this time around.
Speaking at the start of the international break, Southgate was starting to clutch at straws in his backing of the Arsenal keeper.
“It’s not ideal that Aaron’s not playing. But he showed last week, to respond to the mistake the way that he did, that he has the mental resilience to play for England. In that position on the pitch, in particular, that’s crucial.”
Pope is recovering from long term injury, not only that, but a goalkeeper’s worst nightmare in a shoulder issue.
Whoever goes with England as number three has to be reliable.
Does this sound like the comments of somebody reliable, especially if they haven’t been playing:
“If you ask me to concentrate on a game of football for 90 minutes, I’m finished. I can’t do it.
“So that’s why I get involved with the fans and I’ll sing along with the songs. Someone is giving me abuse and I’ll turn round and give them a bit back.
“I’ve had my two or three minutes of madness in my head and then straight back to the football. I’ve got 10/15 minutes of pure concentration again.”
There are some, Ian Wright included, who think that Mikel Arteta signed David Raya with Ramsdale’s behaviour being a consideration.
Jack Butland has shown that he can cope with having nothing to do for 90 minutes before making a key save, he can deal with direct and aggressive teams and has been faultless against teams like Benfica and Real Betis in the Europa League – he is also the perfect professional around the training ground.
Southgate has to go with common sense in the summer, on paper and on the pitch, the only decision to make is Jack Butland.
