The Rangers keeper ought to be representing Manchester United and England, according to Ibrox legend.

John Brown believes that Jack Butland, who should be starting for Manchester United, deserves to be part of the England team, which is why Rangers have had such a strong defensive record this season.

The former center half, who played a major role in the Ibrox club’s 1990s dominance of Scottish football and completion of Nine-In-A-Row, has been pleased with the defense play of Philippe Clement’s team since the Belgian took over as manager back in October.

In the 17 league games they have played under Clement, James Tavernier and his teammates have only given up seven goals. If they defeat struggling Ross County by three goals in Govan tomorrow evening, they will move to the top of the Scottish Premiership.

They have allowed just 12 goals in total in the Premiership, five less than Celtic, the current leaders of the top flight and the defending champions.

Brown feels that Rangers’ newfound defensive stability is largely down to Butland, who came on a free transfer from Crystal Palace prior to the 2023–24 season.

He expressed surprise that United decided not keep the 30-year-old, who was on loan from Inter Milan the previous season, for longer. Since signing the Cameroonian goalie for £43.8 million in 2023, Andre Onana has committed a number of expensive, high-profile errors.

“The biggest thing you need is a quality goalkeeper and Rangers have that,” Brown stated yesterday at a promotional event for the Rangers Youth Development Company and their Union Jackpot half-time draw at Ibrox. Half the fight is won there.

“It’s not so simple to be a great center back or full back if your goalie is not on the same level as people I worked with, like Allan McGregor, Andy Goram, or Stefan Klos.

Butland is a goalkeeper for the national team. He is new and hasn’t played a lot of minutes in the past seasons. But his quality is apparent. He reassures the backline that they don’t have to be too deep when you watch him emerge.

“With certain goalkeepers I was involved with, I won’t name them, but we would dive deeper to shield them instead of putting our trust in their ability to stop a shot from 25 yards away. This season, he has likely been among the Rangers’ finest players.

“I was always a fan of Butland,” the Rangers ambassador continued. It astonished me that he was never able to get more time south. There are many goalkeepers in the English Premier League that, in my opinion, Jack Butland is superior to.

“In my opinion, he was Manchester United’s first-choice goalkeeper when he was there. If my preference was for a reliable goalie, Jack Butland would be my pick. It’s great for the club that we got him.”

Since 1997, when Brown was playing with Paul Gascoigne near the end of his career, no Rangers player has ever represented England.

But Brown believes that Butland should be given a call-up prior to the Euro 2024 finals in Germany this summer by Gareth Southgate, who selected Jordan Pickford of Everton, Sam Johnstone of Palace, and Aaron Ramsdale of Arsenal in his final team back in November.

He is aware that the Premier League is of a greater caliber than the Premiership, but he believes the nine-time internationalist is still producing excellent work both at home and abroad on a weekly basis, and he is certain he wouldn’t have any trouble returning to the international game.

He remarked, “He’s walking into a club where every home game has 50,000 fans.” “He is competing for trophies, playing in Europe, and he is a major contributor to the success of the backline.”

During the final days of the January transfer window, Rangers turned down a bid for Butland from English top flight contenders Nottingham Forest. Brown is optimistic that the Ibrox club can retain the in-form goalkeeper for some time to come. Brown signed a four-year contract when he joined and is under contract until 2027. Because of the years he has missed, he “probably has another 10 years at the top,” he stated. “Allan McGregor played for us until he was forty years old, and he returned at the age of thirty-six. Thus, hopefully, Rangers won’t be unable to keep Jack.

The experience of Leon Balogun, Ben Davies, Connor Goldson, and John Souttar, according to Brown—who forged a legendary central defensive partnership with Richard Gough during Rangers’ 1992–1993 domestic treble—has also allowed the Glasgow giants to play at their peak both domestically and in Europe under Clement.