Former Manchester United goalkeeper Jack Butland could be a title-winner at the end of the season after quitting the Premier League. Butland spent the second half of the 2022/23 campaign at Old Trafford on loan from Crystal Palace, where he had fallen out of favour.

Although he was part of the squad that won the 2023 FA Cup, he didn't make a single appearance, with the long-serving David de Gea keeping his place before being let go at the end of the season. Then-manager Erik ten Hag brought in Andre Onana from Inter Milan, which proved to be an expensive mistake.

Desperate for first-team football, Butland joined Rangers permanently that summer following the expiry of his Palace contract, but there are some who felt he should have been given a chance to establish himself at United.

They included former Rangers player John Brown, who insisted Butland was at least on a par with United's first-choice stoppers at the time. Speaking in 2024, Brown, who played for the Gers between 1988 and 1997, said: "I was always a fan of Butland. I was surprised he never got more minutes down south.

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"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."

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Brown also backed Butland, 32, to play into his 40s, adding: "He probably has another 10 years at the top because of the years he's missed."

Explaining why he had to quit English football, Butland said via The Scotsman: "As much as I enjoyed Palace and as good as United was, I missed playing. And that's important to me.

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"All right, 'Could you be at United?' Well, yes, but what would the rest of my career look like? That was important to me. I wanted 30 onwards to be something l look back on as a successful period and not one that drifted away."

While Butland has helped Rangers storm into Scottish Premiership title contention under Danny Rohl, who replaced the deeply unpopular Russell Martin in October, he has made the occasional error.

During the recent 5-1 win over Kilmarnock, he gifted the visitors their goal with an errant clearance that went straight to goalscorer Greg Kiltie. Butland is contracted to Rangers, who host leaders Hearts in a huge title showdown on Sunday, until the summer of 2027.

United, meanwhile, appear to have resolved their problem in between the sticks. Senne Lammens has been a reassuring presence since his £18million arrival last summer, with Onana now on loan at Trabzonspor.

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