Jack Butland doesn’t have long to wait to see if his Rangers form has earned a recall to the England international squad, although he will be more concerned about Benfica and Dundee first.
Gers boss Philippe Clement knows that he has someone his defence can rely on to dig them out of trouble and he will have to be at his very best again when the Portugues giants come to Ibrox.
Gareth Southgate has been open about Jack Butland’s chances with former Rangers manager Mark Warburton backing the Light Blues number one to get the nod, in conversation with Scott Bradley.
Jack Butland tipped to be rewarded for Rangers form
Realistically, this isn’t some sort of fan or media campaign.
The England manager and his goalkeeper coach have both complimented Butland’s performances this season.
Not only that, but he has called him up in the past and will be fully aware of the type of character that he is.
We’ve seen it at Rangers, Jack Butland is clearly the consumate professional and a valuable player to have in any dressing room.
Speaking on the ScotScorePod hosted by Bradley, Warburton thinks that the calls for Butland’s inclusion are more than justified:
“I wouldn’t disagree.
“I think Nick Pope’s injury has hurt Newcastle and England.
“You look at Ramsdale, losing his spot to David Raya at Arsenal.
“That’s one area where Gareth can compare, he can look at the games where he’s pulled off some tremendous saves.
“Look at that Kilmarnock game, the one on one save he pulls off.
“He’s had a tremendous season and he’s upset a lot of people in terms of how he has turned around his game. Got back to his very best.
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him in the squad.”
It felt, really quickly, like Jack Butland was a key member of this Rangers squad.
Even when we were struggling, his levels never dropped and he remained positive.
He has been the best goalkeeper in Scotland by a country mile and is a serious contender for player of the year – a league title would all but confirm that.
Warburton is right and it would seem like Southgate agrees if a Sky Sports report is accurate.
Where a goalkeeper is playing should have little bearing on whether or not they are good enough for international football.
In busy games in Europe, Butland has looked good.
In games where he has had nothing to do but make one big save, he has.
What he has also shown is that he can handle the physicality and direct brand of football that a lot of Scottish teams adopt.
If Butland gets the call, not only would it be great news for the player but also for the club in terms of prestige and potential recruitment.
If you can get called up for England playing for Rangers, you can get called up for anyone.
