‘Better than’ - Rangers legend claims in-form player would start over Man Utd counterpart

Rangers icon John Brown claims that Manchester United made a mistake by not making Jack Butland their first choice goalkeeper.

The nine-time England international had a brief six month loan stint at Old Trafford at the end of last season. During that time the 30-year-old was on the bench for the Red Devils on 20 occasions, including the FA Cup final defeat, but never made a single first team appearance.

Butland, who struggled for football at Crystal Palace, during a difficult patch of his career, has been a revelation for Rangers since moving to Glasgow in the summer. He has already tasted success in the Scottish League Cup and has been a key component in the club’s recent turnaround under Philippe Clement - boasting an overall record of 20 clean sheets in 40 appearances and conceding 30 goals.

Such form has catapulted him back onto the England radar, according to Three Lions goalkeeping coach Martyn Magertson while Brown feels that the Red Devils made a mistake spending £50m on Andre Onana instead of trusting Butland.

The eight-time title winner told Manchester Evening News: "I was always a fan of Butland. I was surprised he never got more minutes down south. When I look at the Premier League there are a lot of goalkeepers down there that I'd say Jack Butland is better than.

"He was at Manchester United and for me their first choice goalkeeper... if I was going for a steady keeper then Jack Butland would be my choice. So the fact Rangers got him is fantastic for the club. The other thing is he's coming into a club with 50,000 every home game."

"He's playing in Europe, going for trophies, he's got a trophy in the bag, he probably has another 10 years at the top because of the years he's missed."

Butland's last major tournament for England came after Stoke City's relegation from the Premier League in 2018, but he is now hoping to push his way back into Gareth Southgate's thoughts ahead of Euro 2024 as Nick Pope struggles with injury at Newcastle and Aaron Ramsdale struggles for game time at Arsenal.