Yahoo News Rangers' '£15m Jack Butland price tag' as Stoke City old boy tipped to follow him to Scotland
Joe Bursik is hoping to follow the Jack Butland model and reignite his career in Scotland.
The former England youth keeper showed glimpses of his potential as he broke into the Stoke City first team under Michael O'Neill in 2020 - and out on loan with Accrington Stanley, Doncaster Rovers, Peterborough United and Lincoln.
He was thrown into the deep end amid a senior goalkeeping crisis at the bet365 Stadium and ended up cast aside by Alex Neil, then sold to Club Brugge in a crucial deal that meant Stoke were in the black in terms of Financial Fair Play. It was nowhere near the kind of fee that Stoke had been anticipating as Bursik came through the ranks but it was vital in the context of its timing.
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Injuries have derailed his time in Belgium and he is yet to start but, now 23, he is expected to be given a chance to show what he can do again with a season-long loan at Hibernian. Hibs are preparing for another season in the Scottish Premiership under David Gray, who is looking to replace retiring David Marshall. The Sun's Alan Nixon says Bursik is their target.
He will do well to follow in Butland's footsteps. Butland barely featured for Crystal Palace or Manchester United following a difficult end to his Stoke career but he has got back into the England conversation thanks to his performances in his first year in Glasgow with Rangers.
There is, however, transfer talk surrounding Butland this summer. Rangers are expected to bring in Liam Kelly on a free transfer from Motherwell Some in the Ibrox faithful fear that could spell an exit for the 31-year-old.
But Stevie Clifford, from the Four Lads Had a Dream podcast, said on the Rangers Review this week: “I don’t see Jack Butland leaving this summer, I’m pretty confident that he’ll stay.
“That’s caveated if somebody slaps £15 million on the table. It’ll need to be north of £10million for Rangers to be seriously considering it.”
