Despite Aston Villa goalkeeper Jed Steer signing a new long term extension to his contract at Villa Park last week, there’s still swirling speculation about stoppers on the summer transfer window rumour mill – both in and out.
With news about Neil Etheridge going very quiet indeed, Jack Butland speculation continues to dominate the goalkeeping sections of the red tops (both on and off line) but despite claims that Stoke City were initially holding out for £20million for the 26-year-old, I thought it was quite novel that the Sun (via Stoke on Trent Live effectively suggested the deal was now stalled because they wanted £23million and wouldn’t accept a penny less.
Ergo that was why we gave Steer a new contract instead, as £3million had priced us out of a move for the England stopper.
“Stoke want too much for keeper Jack Butland, forcing them to give Jed Steer a new contract.”
The Sun, the paper that just keeps on giving eh.
I’d say the quotes from Chief Executive Tony Scholes (report above) actually tell you all you need to know if we do have a genuine interest in him.
“Some players have expressed a desire to move on and it makes sense for us as well. Some players agreed to stay for an extra year to give us a push for promotion and it hasn’t worked out. Take Jack as an example. Jack’s on record as saying he needs to be playing in the Premier League. And in saying that, he is echoing what Gareth Southgate has not only told Jack, but I think without naming Jack he’s said he needs his players to be playing in the Premier League. We recognise where Jack’s at. We respect his opinion, we respect what he wants, but also we’ve got to look after the football club and got to make sure that if Jack is moving on, it’s for a fair price.”
The simple fact is Butland will be worth less next January and with him only having 12 months on his contract come next summer (let alone a potentially unhappy player for the season of 2019/20) he’ll definitely be worth less then, so would Stoke really quibble about £3million if reports of a £20million bid are accurate?
Methinks, not.
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