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Stoke goalkeeper Butland eyes Liverpool move

Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland is keen on a Summer move to Liverpool despite being lined up for a long-term replacement for homesick first team keeper Thibaut Courtois at Chelsea.

Jack Butland

Bengaluru, December 31: Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland is keen on a Summer move to Liverpool despite being lined up for a long-term replacement for homesick first team keeper Thibaut Courtois at Chelsea.

Butland has shown up 59 times for the Potters since landing at the club in 2013 in an injury-plagued career. However he has shown his worth in every first team chance he got at Stoke. His superb form under the stick also got him England national call up and has recently linked him with a transfer away from the bet365 Stadium with some of the top Premier League clubs like Chelsea, Liverpool enquiring about the keeper.

The 24-year-old was first linked to Chelsea in 2013 as a deputy of ageing Petr Cech but he picked a move to Stoke on the grounds that they would give him a more game time which surely he got.

Since that time, after Cech's exit from the club, academy youngster Thibaut Courtois has since solidified himself as Blues' first-team choice. However, recently it has emerged that the player is looking for a move to Spain as his family lives there and he feels homesick at England, with Real Madrid as a strong suitor.

Chelsea have reportedly identified the England stopper as his replacement but now as per reports, the former Birmingham City player is not interested to join the defending Premier League champions and instead wants a move to Jurgen Klopp's side who also are looking for a first team keeper.

Liverpool's defensive frailties have been the talks of the town for the last couple of years and Klopp has been slowly but steadily doing everything he can to settle their issues at the back.

He already has signed two new centre-backs, Matip and recently Virgil van Dijk for a world record £75 million move from Southampton and even a new keeper, Karius from Mainz.

But since, Pepe Reina left the club in 2013, Liverpool have struggled in the goalkeeping area.

Simon Mignolet joined the club from Sunderland in 2013. However, question marks still stay over his performance as the Belgian has been often shaky under the bar.

New acquisition Loris Karius, who was signed from Mainz last summer also till now endured a rough start in the Premier League.

Thus to solve the issue, the German manager is reportedly eyeing a goalkeeper in the Summer and identified the English international.

Stoke reportedly has demanded £30 million for the 24-year-old, and if we count on his recent performance we can clearly say that there is a big possibility that the transfer turns out to be a solid addition to the Liverpool side where goalkeepers have failed to meet expectations.

Story first published: Sunday, December 31, 2017, 14:09 [IST]
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