There seems to have been tons of these “One to watch” articles over the years and the players have done nothing. An example of this is Kyel Reid of Charlton who was tipped to be England’s best left winger in years. He is now playing in League 2 for struggling Bradford. Well this is player that really is worth a watch, Jack Butland.
Butland, 19, is a goalkeeper currently at Birmingham but is not expected to be there or long. Bristol born Jack has come through the youth ranks at Birmingham and has spent much of this season on loan at Cheltenham. Jack took his first team chance at the Robins and produced many good performances and this lead to a sum of 32 scouts travelling down to Whaddon Road to take a look at the prospect.
Butland clearly has an admirer in the FA, Stuart Pearce chose him as his number 1 for the England Under-21’s at the age of only 18. Pearce has clearly been impressed with him as he is currently on the shortlist for the London 2012 Olympic Squad.
As a Cheltenham fan, I have seen Butland in action quite a few times this season and his young man has all the credentials to make it as a top proffesional. He commands his area vcery well and is very competant at cluthing the ball from the air. One of the only issues with Butland is his kicking but at the age of 19, he has plenty of time to correct this.
In December, there was a reported £2 million bid from Sunderland for Butland, which was turned down by Championship play-off hopefuls Birmingham. This showsw that top scouts clearly see something in him and ity was recently reported that the Premier League champions Manchester United were lining up a bid for him.
Remember the name Jack Butland because one day he will be pushing Joe Hart all the way for the England jersey and I do not think it would suprise any Cheltenham or Birmingham fans if he won the shirt.
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