Stoke City’s hopes of survival in the Premier League are almost dead but only by a slim margin. It would take a miraculous sequence of events including two wins in the last two games of the season, which could be an arduous challenge against Crystal Palace and Swansea City.
Prior to their drop to the Championship, it is expected for some of the prestigious names at the bet365 Stadium to make a club exit and Jack Butland leads that list by a fair margin. The 25-year-old will be travelling to Russia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and could feature in the starting lineup ahead of Everton’s Jordan Pickford and Joe Hart.
Butland has been one of the brightest heads in what has been a failure of a season for the Potters. He has racked up 33 appearances and has maintained only 5 clean sheets, which is understandably hard when the team is letting in 65 goals in the entire season, the second worst defence in the league.
After playing in the Premier League for the last 5 years, Butland has totalled 22 clean sheets in his 84 games for Stoke and has been capped 7 times for the national team and 52 times for the England youth sides.
If he is to leave the bet365 Stadium this season, here are a few clubs who would warmly welcome him ahead of the 2018/19 campaign.
The Reds are flustered with the incompetent Simon Mignolet in their side and the first-choice keeper, Loris Karius has not proven to be much of an impressor either.
Jurgen Klopp has expressed significant interest in the Englishman and is ready to break the bank to get him. Liverpool’s defence under the German manager has suffered and Butland will definitely address the recurring issue.
Arsene Wenger’s reign at Emirates is about to be over and the team might be left in a somewhat vulnerable state. The Gunners defence has drawn heavy criticism from the fans and critics, which has forced the team out of the top-four, again this season.
Petr Cech is 35 now and not getting any younger. While he still holds seniority over David Ospina, it would be wise for Arsenal to start looking for a long-term option in Jack Butland.
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The ongoing question of whether David De Gea will return to Spain following the campaign at Old Trafford continues to be speculated upon. Interests from Real Madrid might be enough to whisk away the 27-year-old and that will leave a major gap in the Red Devils team.
