Chelsea move would be good for Jack Butland

According to Sky Sports, Chelsea will make a move for Stoke City’s England international goalkeeper Jack Butland if Thibaut Courtois makes a switch to Real Madrid.

With just two days until the transfer window shuts, Courtois has failed to return to training with Chelsea, reportedly in an attempt to push through a move to the Spanish capital.

The Belgian international’s agent has already stated that the goalkeeper wants to make the move to Madrid. Courtois’ is in the last year of his contract with Chelsea, so he will be a free agent next summer if he stays with the south west London club.

Butland now the first-choice replacement

Chelsea were reported to have made Everton’s Jordan Pickford their first choice replacement for Courtois. However, understandably Everton have refused to negotiate over the sale of England number one Pickford.

That means the Blues have now switched their attention to Butland, who is regarded as one of the best English ‘keepers in the game. The move for the 25-year-old seems a far easier and less expensive one than for Pickford,

The fact that Stoke suffered relegation last season is a big factor in the move. Butland is unlikely to stay in the Championship for long, as his development and England career may suffer. A move for Butland would be understandable from a Chelsea viewpoint. The Blues would be signing a potential number one for a decade, who has scope to massively improve.

Needs to move to push on

Neither Butland nor Pickford had particular great campaigns for their clubs last season. However, the Everton man’s ability with feet earned him the England number one shirt at the World Cup, where he excelled for Gareth Southgate’s team.

Butland will be looking to push Pickford hard for that number one spot in the coming season. Even as an Everton fan, I would say that there is very little between the two goalkeepers in terms of ability.

A move to Chelsea would mean Butland playing in front of a much more solid defence than at Stoke, which would mean less of a chance to make saves. However, it would also mean he would be more high profile, so if he performed then international boss Southgate could no longer ignore his displays.

Butland is in the period of his career where he now has to live up to his hype. If he moved to Chelsea, he would have to step up his game. Butland seems to have the sort of character that would thrive on the pressure and expectation of playing for a team like Chelsea, though.

Chelsea still linked with a number of players

As the transfer deadline looms, Chelsea are still being linked with a number of players. The biggest one in the last few days is a potential move to sign Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Matteo Kovacic. There is also still talk of a big-money move for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.

Something tells me that the Blues transfer business is yet to be concluded. If as expected Courtois leaves, then the Blues will inevitably sign a replacement before their opening Premier League game of the campaign against Huddersfield, a match Chelsea are odds of 8/13 to win.

Jack Butland moving to Chelsea would be a fascinating move. It has been a while since an English goalkeeper has played on a regular basis for one of the so-called big six. It would be a big step up for Butland, but maybe it is what he needs to push him to the next level as a player.

Could Jack Butland be Thibaut Courtois’ replacement at Chelsea?