Premier League

Man Utd ‘in talks’ to sign England international ‘immediately’ after recall forces them into plan change

Man Utd target Butland

Man Utd are reportedly ‘in talks’ to sign Crystal Palace goalkeeper Jack Butland this month after Martin Dubravka was recalled by Newcastle United.

Dubravka joined Man Utd on loan in the summer. He came in as David De Gea’s new backup after Dean Henderson moved to Nottingham Forest on loan.

Henderson initially wanted to leave Man Utd last season after he fell behind De Gea in the pecking order.

An exit in January was denied by Man Utd and Henderson subsequently hit out at the club for standing in the way of his progress. 

“I turned so many good loans down last summer for that reason [being promised the No.1 spot], and they wouldn’t let me go,” Henderson revealed.

“It was frustrating. To sit there and waste 12 months is criminal really, at my age. I was fuming.”

He added: “The conversation I had, coming out of the Euro squad, was that you’re coming back here to be the number one goalkeeper. I got Covid – unfortunately, no one followed through with anything they told me.”

Dubravka has been restricted to just two appearances for Man Utd this season. Both his outings came in the Carabao Cup as United beat Aston Villa and Burnley.

The goalkeeper was due to be at United until the summer but Newcastle have opted to recall him six months early.

The Magpies may have hoped that Dubravka would feature more for their rivals, but he has not appeared in the Premier League or Europa League.

Newcastle already have a few options in the goalkeeping department with Nick Pope, Loris Karius, Karl Darlow and Mark Gillespie contracted to the club.

Dubravka is under contract until 2025 so they may look to sell him in January so they can get a higher fee than they would in the summer.

His departure from Man Utd leaves them with just De Gea and Tom Heaton to choose from.

The Telegraph are reporting that this has forced them into the market for a replacement and they are ‘in talks’ to sign Butland.

The nine-cap England international was Stoke City’s number-one in the Premier League and Championship before he joined Crystal Palace in 2020.

He has been restricted to just 17 outings for the Eagles over the past two seasons as he has been behind Vicente Guaita in the pecking order.

Butland is out of contract in the summer so he is ‘free to talk to clubs about a pre-contract for next season’.

But Man Utd are moving to recruit him ‘immediately’ and his contract situation means ‘fees are likely to be nominal for a player with Premier League…

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