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Signing Jack Butland would be a “smart” move for Liverpool in the closing hours of the domestic transfer window, according to former Reds midfielder Danny Murphy.
Butland, who has nine appearances for England, has fallen out of favor at Stoke City, where his place at number one was taken by Wales international Adam Davies.
That has led to ties to pullouts, with Liverpool being suggested as a possible destination amid an injury to their number one Alisson and the poor form displayed by his replacement Adrian.
Murphy would be behind the move and has asked the Reds to do so before Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline.
“I like the idea of Jack Butland joining Liverpool,” he told the Football Index Podcast.
“He’s trying to find himself again after a very good start to his career when he was being talked about as potentially England’s first goalkeeper.
“Unfortunately for him, he has fallen a bit by the wayside with Stoke being relegated from the Premier League.
“This could be a great opportunity for him to go to a wonderful club, learn from a brilliant goalkeeper, play a few games and start over. That makes sense to me. I think signing Jack Butland would be smart business.”
Despite Murphy’s stance, there appears to be little chance Liverpool will make a late move for Butland, and the Reds are not expected to bring in any players on the deadline.
One deal Murphy doesn’t expect Liverpool to do is to extend Gini Wijnaldum’s contract, and the Dutchman is expected to leave with a free transfer next summer.
“I like Wijnaldum a lot and I think he has been great, so it will be very interesting to see what happens with his contractual situation and the supposed interest of Barcelona,” Murphy said.
“I think he has quietly passed under the radar while making the left side of midfield his own.
“I am surprised that Wijnaldum is in the last year of his contract, normally it is not the way Liverpool do business so that worries me, maybe he is looking for a new challenge and has a good relationship with [Barca boss Ronald] Koeman.
“It seems that Wijnaldum can go to Barcelona at the end of the season or even in January. I think the only compensation is the fact that Thiago has already entered.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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