@LUFC: The club can confirm a deal is agreed for England international Jack Butland to join on loan from Stoke until the end of the season #lufc
A deal has been agreed for England international goalkeeper Jack Butland to join Leeds United on loan until the end of the season.
The 22-year-old, who has represented England at all age groups including the senior side, and was a part of the Great Britain team at the 2012 Olympics, will arrive from Premier League side Stoke City.
The signing is seen as a real coup for the club, and manager Brian McDermott said: “We’re delighted to agree a deal to secure the services of Jack until the end of the season.
“Obviously he has high ambitions. He has already been involved in the England squad and I know he is very much looking forward to coming in and being part of the group we have here.”
Jack, who cost Stoke £3.5m from Birmingham City in January 2013, has made 87 career appearances, including three in the Premier League.
He was Birmingham’s Young Player of the Year in 2012/13, and this season he has made 13 appearances for Barnsley during a loan spell at Oakwell, including a terrific performance in a 0-0 draw at Elland Road in December.
Jack also became the youngest goalkeeper to play for England when he made his senior international debut in a 2-1 win against Italy in 2012.
United managing director David Haigh said: “We’re delighted we’ve been able agree a deal to bring in a player of Jack’s quality and pedigree. He is a young player who has played at the very highest level, and we’re looking forward to him joining us.”
The goalkeeper is expected to complete the formalities of his move ahead of Saturday's trip to Middlesbrough.
It's nice to see a nucleus of Brits at the club again, isn't it ?
I'm no xenophobe, but it's too easy to plump for "bargain" European players and, frankly, it's lazy. There's plenty of good players in the lower leagues so why not bring them through and see how far they go.
In fact, we could field an all-English squad at the moment, let alone British:
Butland
Peltier - Lees - Pearce - Warnock
Byram - Murphy - Mowatt - Stewart
Poleon - Smith
rigger wrote:It's nice to see a nucleus of Brits at the club again, isn't it ?
I'm no xenophobe, but it's too easy to plump for "bargain" European players and, frankly, it's lazy. There's plenty of good players in the lower leagues so why not bring them through and see how far they go.
In fact, we could field an all-English squad at the moment, let alone British:
Butland
Peltier - Lees - Pearce - Warnock
Byram - Murphy - Mowatt - Stewart
Poleon - Smith
He is superfluous to requirements on-going - however if we have a long term plan Butland and 6 or 7 more of his ilk should be signed & we might just get him given he has had 12 months of relative stagnation.
