Sky Sports Reporter Claims Long-Standing Liverpool Target Could Still Move This Summer
Liverpool are considering whether to raid Stoke for a second time in this transfer window by making a move to sign goalkeeper Jack Butland.
Reports have been back and forth on whether Jurgen Klopp is going to purchase a replacement for Loris Karius, who followed up his Champions League final errors with another calamitous mistake in a pre-season friendly against Tranmere.
For a while it seemed that Klopp would keep faith with the German keeper as Liverpool were priced out of deals for other goalkeeping targets such as Roma's Brazilian shot-stopper Alisson Becker.
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But Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth told the Transfer Talk podcast that a deal for Butland could now be in the pipeline.
"Butland is an interesting one,” Sheth said. "If he wants to be England number one in the future, he’d have to be playing in the Premier League. The longer the window goes on, he could be on the move. Keep on eye on it."
Liverpool have already taken one of Stoke's best players by signing winger Xherdan Shaqiri for £13m, and the relegated Potters could now find themselves raided again for their first-choice goalkeeper.
Butland has been part of England's World Cup squad but he has not featured at the tournament due to the impressive form of Jordan Pickford.
He has been at Stoke since joining from Birmingham in 2013, though an injury-plagued few years has restricted him to just 77 Premier League appearances for the Potters.
Stoke have already lost backup goalkeeper Lee Grant to Manchester United. They have signed Adam Federici from Bournemouth but will find themselves in search of another keeper if Butland leaves.
