England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed that Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland is one of the names he is running the rule over ahead of this summer's Euro 2024 tournament.
While Three Lions number one Jordan Pickford continues to line up unopposed in the Everton XI, Southgate is facing a couple of unwanted dilemmas with his usual backup options.
Aaron Ramsdale and Sam Johnstone have often played second fiddle to Pickford in recent England camps, although the pair have now been demoted to the number twos at their clubs as well.
Despite keeping 14 Premier League clean sheets last season, Ramsdale has lost his place in the Arsenal team to David Raya, while Johnstone has not played for Crystal Palace in the Premier League since December, with countryman Dean Henderson guarding the sticks in the past several weeks.
Newcastle United's Nick Pope - who has struggled to force his way into Three Lions squads when fully fit - is also nursing a long-term shoulder injury, leaving Southgate with few options to pick from when it comes to selecting English goalkeepers playing regular football.
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However, 30-year-old Butland - who joined Rangers on a free transfer last summer - has excelled in the Scottish Premiership, only conceding 12 goals in 24 games and keeping a remarkable 15 clean sheets.
Butland has already earned nine senior England caps, but the former Manchester United and Stoke City man was last called up in 2019, and not since September 2018 has he played for his country.
Despite his recent lack of international experience, Butland - who was on the bench throughout the 2018 World Cup - is on Southgate's radar as the England boss seeks solutions to the Three Lions' goalkeeping predicament.
"It is an issue for us and the situation is up in the air. I can't deny that so again we have to make sure we're watching everybody," The Mirror quotes Southgate as saying.
"Jack Butland is included in that because he's obviously playing at a big club and is an experienced goalkeeper. It's not an ideal situation with Aaron not playing, Sam at the moment not playing and Nick injured. We'll have to see how that plays out."
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Butland was just 19 years of age when he was summoned to an England squad for the first time, making the bench for a 1-0 friendly win over Belgium in June 2012 under Roy Hodgson.
Then on the books at Birmingham City, Butland was included in Hodgson's Euro 2012 squad before making his Three Lions debut later that year, playing 45 minutes of a 2-1 friendly win over Italy.
England will vie for a spot in the Euro 2024 knockout rounds with Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia in Group C of the continental competition, and Southgate's side also learned their Nations League fate earlier this week.
Following their relegation to League B for the 2024-25 campaign, England will face the Republic of Ireland, Greece and Finland as they bid to return to the top tier at the first time of asking.
Ben Knapton
