Jack Butland may not be part of the first-team picture at Crystal Palace these days – farmed out on loan to Manchester United after slipping to third place in The Eagles’ pecking order.
But with his contract expiring and with Rangers reportedly ‘on the brink’ of bringing the 30-year-old to Ibrox, a replacement will still need to be sourced at Selhurst Park (The Sun).
And it seems Crystal Palace have found one too. A 21-year-old shot-stopper who, rather fittingly given his age, goes by the name Young Navarro Moraes.
Crystal Palace will not stop Jack Butland leaving for Rangers
According to Brazilian publication Torcedores, Moraes – like Butland – is entering the final few weeks of his contract. And while Sao Paulo have not yet given up hope of tying the 6ft 6ins colossus down to a new deal, Benfica, Fiorentina and Crystal Palace are already queuing up, offering Morares the chance to continue his development this side of The Atlantic.
Nearly a decade Butland’s junior; Moraes may be more willing to accept a role as Crystal Palace’s third-choice. Honing his talents under the more experienced Vicente Guaita and Sam Johnston before climbing the ladder.
Allan McGregor’s replacement?
Butland was a regular in the England set-up not so long ago. A member of the Three Lions squad which finished third at the 2018 World Cup. Like Joe Hart, now plying his trade on the other side of Glasgow at Celtic, a move north of the border could be exactly what the now-30-year-old glovesman needs if he hopes to relaunch his career.
“Jack Butland has been fantastic,” Hart once said of a man six years his junior. “He is a young guy who has played a lot of games, he has captained the (England) U21s.
“Nothing has surprised me about the progress he has made.”
Rangers, according the Scottish Sun, are closing in on a deal. Butland will replace 41-year-old Allan McGregor, while Mick Beale is also expected to move on from fellow veteran Jon McLaughlin after a couple of high-profile errors.
For ex-Rangers striker Kris Boyd, a deal to bring in Butland is a classic case of ‘better late than never’.
“The deal to sign Jack Butland might get done this summer,” Boyd writes in his Scottish Sun column. “But why didn’t it happen 12 months ago? I know he was keen to come.”
