Crystal Palace would strike gold with the signing of Jack Butland
According to the Sun, Crystal Palace are interested in signing Stoke City’s English international goalkeeper Jack Butland, with Bournemouth also weighing up a move for the highly-rated shot-stopper.
Butland, who is rated at £15million by Stoke, stood by the Potters when they were relegated from the Premier League last term but Nathan Jones’ side look set to miss out on promotion after a poor campaign in the Championship and they might be forced to cash in on the 25-year-old shot-stopper in the summer. (h/t Sun)
Butland, who has 9 international caps for England under his belt and was a part of the squad at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, has been targeted by Palace as a replacement for Vicente Guaita, with the Spaniard likely to return to the La Liga at the end of the season. The Eagles have Wayne Hennessey,32, and club legend Julian Speroni,39, as other options between the sticks but neither of them are as good as Jack Butland.
A youth product of Birmingham City, Butland rose to prominence with his boyhood club and spent time on loan at Cheltenham before joining Stoke City in 2013. Butland had loan stints at Leeds United, Derby County and Barnsley before establishing himself as Stoke’s No.1 between the sticks in the 2015-16 season. He hasn’t looked back since then and has taken big steps towards fulfilling his potential as one of England’s most talented young goalkeepers, keeping 35 clean sheets from 122 appearances for the Potters across all competitions.
Standing at 6ft. 5 inches, Butland has just the perfect height for a goalkeeper. His towering stature provides him with an obvious advantage over most of his offensive counterparts, with his long hands allowing him a good reach to keep shots out from all ranges.
Blessed with razor-sharp reflexes and sound decision-making ability, Butland has earned the status of a bona-fide shot-stopper in English football. To go along with his towering frame and shot-stopping abilities, he also has a good command over his penalty area. He is adept at judging the trajectory of the crosses delivered into the area and generally has a safe pair of hands.
To put things into perspective, a goalkeeper of Butland’s calibre certainly deserves to play in the Premier League and Crystal Palace would have a wonderful long-term solution to their woes between the sticks should they manage to get their hands on the highly-rated Englishman. It is a no-brainer that he would be an upgrade on their existing goalkeeping options.
Palace have done reasonably well in the Premier League under the stewardship of Roy Hodgson after a poor start to their campaign. However, they need to invest in certain areas of the squad next summer to build a more formidable unit. And the reliable presence of Jack Butland can certainly make a massive difference for the Eagles in the Premier League next term.
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That said, they should not hesitate to splash the cash to bring the Stoke City man to Selhurst Park next summer.
