Love-in for Stoke City old boys as pretender goes up against 'idol'

Jack Butland watching young keeper Joe Bursik in training for Stoke City.
-Credit: (Image: Phil Radcliffe/The Sentinel)


The big game of the day in Scotland sees Jack Butland go up against his old training partner Joe Bursik as Rangers take on Hibs - and it is an old relationship that means a lot to Bursik.

Butland was recovered from injury and in the England squad when Bursik joined Stoke back in the summer of 2017, fresh from helping England win the under-17s World Cup in India. Butland would stay for another three years while Bursik learned the ropes, out on loan before breaking through to the first team under Michael O'Neill in 2020/21.

Both have had challenges and Butland, now aged 31, moved to Rangers to rebuild his career last year, with Bursik following him up north this summer on loan to Hibernian from Club Brugge with the intention of playing regularly. The Ibrox meeting today (12pm) is the first time they have taken each other on for opposition clubs.

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Bursik, aged 24, told the Sunday Mail: “I spoke to Jack before I came to Hibs then a couple of times since then. We had a good relationship at Stoke. I learned a lot from him and it will be good to see him again.

“Jack was a bit of an idol for me growing up so it was cool to train with him every day. I was travelling to all those games and stuff, warming up at all the big stadiums when I was 16 and 17 years old. That’s invaluable, isn’t it?

“I was flirting on the edge of going on my first loan when I first joined Stoke. My best experience was going to Stamford Bridge because I’m a Chelsea fan –that was big. I’d gone from League Two at AFC Wimbledon straight to a pre-season tour with the first team to Switzerland.

“It felt like a different life. You find yourself six or seven years down the line playing in stadiums that big. It’s a nice reward for the hard work.”

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