You’ll be hard-pressed to find a Rangers fan who regrets signing goalkeeper Jack Butland.
The Ibrox side have had a storied history of top class goalkeepers and it takes something special to fill the number one jersey in Glasgow’s southside.
Jack Butland has proven himself worthy in a stellar first season between the sticks.
The biggest testament that can be paid to the 31-year-old is that the transition from Allan McGregor – for some the greatest goalie in Rangers history – has been seamless.
Named the Rangers Player of the Year and already a key fixture of the dressing room, it’s hard to imagine anyone else donning the gloves at Ibrox.
But rewind a couple of years ago and there was a young Bosnian goalkeeper by the name of Vladan Kovacevic turning heads at Auchenhowie.
Rangers-linked Kovacevic earns move
Rangers fans will remember high profile links to Vladan Kovacevic in the summer of 2022.
Back then it remained unclear the situation with Allan McGregor who, after a cameo in the Scottish Cup Final, signed on for another season.
According to the Glasgow Times, Rangers’ interest in the young Rakow goalkeeper ended there.
The stopper has been pulling up trees in the Polish Estraklasa, being named Goalkeeper of the Year in 2022 before inspiring the club to a legendary title in 2023.
The Ibrox side were said to have scouted the goalkeeper on several occasions under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Ex-Ibrox assistant Dave Vos reckons Gio wasn’t backed by the Rangers hierarchy and you can add Vladan Kovacevic to the list of what might’ve beens under the Dutchman.
Now, Kovacevic is back in the press with the 26-year-old goalkeeper on the verge of a move to Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon.
According to Portuguese outlet Record, the goalie will sign a five year deal at the Liga Portugal winners.
Whilst that report doesn’t mention a fee, Nogomania reported earlier in the week that Rakow could bank as much as €6m (£5.1m) from the transfer.
Another Rangers player trading failure?
Rangers fans are more than happy to have Jack Butland between the sticks.
But back in the summer of 2022 the Gers support were a tad nervous about the goalkeeping situation at the club and this came to bear some rotten fruit later in the season.
Allan McGregor probably held on a season too long, whilst Jon McLaughlin famously flapped when handed his Rangers chance at Celtic Park.
The club crumbled and between Van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale, Celtic romped to a treble.
Now, with Vladan Kovacevic moving to Sporting it once again brings into question the effectiveness of player trading at Ibrox.
The Portuguese will hope to develop the Bosnian into one of Europe’s top keepers and bank a pretty penny when he inevitably moves elsewhere in a few years time.
With another five players leaving for nothing this summer, Rangers’ player contract situation has been a financial disaster and we’ve failed to prop the squad up with enough assets.
Whilst Jack Butland is an asset in his own right – although it’s clear Philippe Clement doesn’t want to sell the keeper – something tells us that this won’t be the last time you hear the name Vladan Kovacevic.
Let the situation be a lesson to Rangers, who’ve paid the price in recent years for putting stubborn loyalties and sentiment over effective trading.
