The goalkeeper position in football is regarded as one of the most important on the pitch, if not the most important. So, should clubs not invest as much as they can into making the position as strong as possible?
Southampton did just that last summer; spending around £10m on bringing Celtic’s brick wall Fraser Forster to the club. The move seemed to pay dividends; Forster had a fantastic season in the Premier League with Southampton that by March, he had the most clean sheets out of any other goalkeeper in the Premier League. That was, until he suffered a horrible knee injury during their clash with Burnley and was ruled out for the rest of the season. He has yet to feature this season as well and looks possible that he could yet miss the whole of this season, worst case scenario.
Southampton did sign Maarten Stekelenburg on a season-long loan from Championship side Fulham this summer and he has played all but one of Southampton’s games this season, missing just the one through injury, against Leicester.
Yet, there are still plenty of question marks over the veteran goalkeeper’s ability and has looked shaky in a few games so far. With this, Fraser Forster’s potential longer term absence and Southampton’s European push in mind; a new goalkeeper could well be what Saints manager Ronald Koeman will look to acquire in the January window.
I think he should look no further than England and Stoke ‘keeper Jack Butland. The 22-year-old has been turning heads all season with his outstanding performances on a regular basis for Stoke and forcing his way into the England set-up, making his competitive debut for the Three Lions last month.
Butland signed for Stoke back in January 2013 for a meagre fee of £3.5m from Championship side Birmingham. However, it could have been a different route for Butland. Southampton were consistently linked with a move for the Englishman throughout the summer of 2012 and then during the January window of 2013. Saints did not get their man in the end, as he joined Stoke. However, I think Ronald Koeman should right the wrong that Pochettino made in not signing him and bring him in this coming window.
Butland has had the chance as Stoke’s number one for the first time this season. His predecessor, Asmir Begovic, was sold to Chelsea in the summer. This left the gap for Jack Butland to step up to the plate. It is more than safe to say that he has grasped the opportunity with both hands. His first ‘outstanding’ display came against Norwich City in the third game of the Premier League season. Stoke were under constant pressure from Norwich all game and if it were not for Butland’s heroics, they would have lost. However he made a number of world-class stops and Stoke managed a 1-1 draw, one save, low down from a close range Nathan Redmond strike, was particularly impressive as he got down exceptionally quickly to get a strong right hand on the ball to tip it around the post.
He has also put in word-class performances against Arsenal and Newcastle for Stoke and has made the most saves out of any goalkeeper in the Premier League this season. He also has not made a single mistake leading to a goal. Impressive from the youngster. The game against Arsenal has perhaps been his best game for Stoke so far, despite Stoke losing the game 2-0. He made 3/4 world-class stops to deny the Gunners and the two that he did conceded, were virtually unsaveable.
Southampton’s dream of Champions League football could be closer to reality, if they could sign a goalkeeper of Butland’s calibre. Now, I am not saying that if Butland signs for Southampton, they can win the league, that is ridiculous. Yet, it would be a big step in the right direction. A top-class goalkeeper is the backbone to all the successful sides across Europe, just look at the likes of David De Gea, Thibaut Courtois, Manuel Neuer and Gigi Buffon. They are arguably the best ‘keepers in the world and help their team win titles. I see no reason as to why Butland cannot reach that level.
Also, with Butland, he comes with potential as well. At just 22-years of age, he has many, many years to develop and get continuously better. Which, is a frightening prospect considering how impressive Butland already is. As I mentioned above, given how good he is already, there is no reason why he cannot go on to become one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Which would be fantastic for himself and for England!
His performances for Stoke this season have warranted a lot of praise from fans across England, not just of Stoke. However, I spoke to ReadStoke’s Cillian Moore and this is what he had to say about the shot-stopper:
Jack Butland has been by far our best player this season and has saved us many points in the league. He has made 45 saves, the most in the Premier League so far this season. he has been beyond sensational. Joe Hart should be weary of his place on the England team with Jack putting in stellar performances week in week out for The Potters.
High praise from Cillian and it is a view that most English fans share at the moment. Joe Hart is currently England’s number one, and rightly so. He has been fantastic for Manchester City in the last few years, despite his clanger against Norwich last weekend. However, Butland clearly has the ability to challenge and maybe even take over from him. That ability that Butland possess is the reason Saints should look to bring him in.
He certainly wouldn’t come cheap. Mark Hughes has already praised his shot-stopper on many occasions this season, most recently this weekend against Newcastle and Stoke would not let their ‘keeper go to another Premier League club for, in my opinion, under £15m. Now that is a lot of money for a goalkeeper, however, if Southampton are serious about looking to progress and push for the top European spots, it is an investment which will pay off greatly in the long-term.
Would Butland be a good signing for Southampton?
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