Our protagonist today, one Jack Butland, born 10 March 1993 (age 31) in the grand old land of England, has the lofty occupation of being a goalkeeper for Rangers. Standing at a lofty 6ft 5in (1.96m) and tipping the scales at 14st 11lb (94kg), he certainly has the physical attributes to keep those pesky footballs from daring to cross his goal line. Number 1 on his back, he's a formidable foe between the posts. On the international stage, he's also donned the jersey for the Great Britain team, as hard as it is not to let out a little snicker at the thought.
As of this moment, his current market value is caressing around the £2.5m mark, according to Transfermarkt. As we stray toward the end of his contract with Rangers, that's due to come to an end on the solemn day of 31 May 2027, one can't help but wonder where the bouncing ball of football might take him next.
Let's take a brisk stroll down memory lane, shall we? In the sweet summer month of July 2010, our heroic keeper joined the ranks of Birmingham City. Stepping up in season 2012 - 2013, he made an impressive 46 first team appearances.
Our boy then tried his gloves at Cheltenham Town in September 2011, effortlessly racking up 24 first team appearances in his debut season. However, the call of Birmingham City proved too strong, and he found himself back between their posts in April 2012.
His time at Stoke City began in July 2013, for the not-so-small fee of around £3.5m. The lad donned the Stoke City jersey for a glorious, if somewhat stuttering, 7 seasons where at his peak, he made an astonishing 45 appearances in the 2018 - 2019 season.
Peppered throughout his Stoke years were various loan spells at Barnsley, Leeds United, and Derby County where he made 13, 16, and six first team appearances respectively. Say what you will about the lad, but he certainly knows how to get around.
In October 2020, he transferred from Stoke City to Crystal Palace for a fee of around £1m. Following this, at the dawn of 2023, he was on the move again, taking a quick skip over to Manchester United on loan before finally landing at the steps of Rangers in Scotland in July of the same year.
And so here he is, in the land of kilts and haggis, proudly representing Rangers in Scotland and up to season 2024 - 2025, he has made an impressive 53 league appearances. He's even managed to dance his way into various European competitions, most notably the Europa League.
But for now, we can only sit back with our pies and Bovril, and watch as the Jack Butland story continues to unfold. All things considered, it's not been a half-bad career for the lad, has it?
