Jack Butland SNUBBED by England as Rangers star left out by Gareth Southgate for friendly double header

Jack Butland's sparkling form for Rangers hasn't been enough to see him return to England fold after he was SNUBBED for next month's glamour friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

The 31-year-old arrived at Ibrox on a free transfer from Crystal Palace last summer and has enjoyed a superb season so far, keeping 23 clean sheets in 46 appearances in all competitions, conceding just 35. The shotstopper was expected to be named by Gareth Southgate but the Three Lions boss has gone for Jordan Pickford, Sam Johnstone and Aaron Ramsdale.

Butland was heavily touted to return to the England set up – where he would have been the the first Rangers player to be capped by the Three Lions since Paul Gascoigne in 1998 – by national team gaffer Southgate for the first time since May 2019, when he was an unused sub during the side's run to the semi-finals of the Nations League. The former Birmingham City youth player has won eight senior caps in total, the most recent of which came in a 1-0 friendly win over Switzerland in November 2018.

But the Gers star, who was also a member of the England squad for both the European Championships in 2012 and the World Cup in Russia in 2018, will have to wait after being overlooked for the double header at Wembley against Brazil on Saturday, March 23 and Belgium on Wednesday, March 26.

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