The brilliance of Jack Butland at Rangers proves he should be Man United number one

John Brown reckons Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland is good enough to be number one for Manchester United. The Ibrox legend is a huge fan of the Englishman who Gareth Southgate last week confirmed has forced his way back into his Three Lions’ thoughts on the back of a strong start to his career in Govan.

Butland chose to reboot his career with Rangers after a season sitting on the bench at Old Trafford while on loan from Crystal Palace and with United boss' deciding to swoop for Cameroon international Andre Onana to replace David de Gea. And Brown reckons Man United’s loss is very much Rangers’ gain with his old side boasting the best defensive record in the Scottish Premiership.

He said: “I was always a fan of Butland. I was surprised he never got more minutes down south. When I look at the English Premier League there’s 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 goalkeeper then Jack Butland would be my choice. So the fact Rangers got him is fantastic for the club."

England boss Southgate confirmed last week that Butland was on his radar again, six years after winning the last of his nine caps.

And Brown said: “The other thing is he’s come 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.

“Allan McGregor came back at 36 and played til he was 40 and was outstanding so there’s no reason why Rangers can’t, hopefully, retain him.”

Butland has been a huge part of a defence which has leaked just 12 goals in 24 league games and only seven in 16 league games