Jack Butland: One winner and one loser at Birmingham City if Rangers agreement is sealed | OneFootball

Highlights

New Birmingham City boss Wayne Rooney is set to be handed the funds to strengthen his new squad in the January transfer window in two-and-a-half months time, and he's already apparently setting his sights on certain players.

One of those is a former Blues player who could be making a comeback at St. Andrew's in the form of Jack Butland, who according to The Sun is a top target for Rooney at the start of 2024.

Butland started his professional career at Birmingham having joined their academy as a teenager, and he made his debut for the club in August 2012 at the age of 19, becoming the club's first-choice goalkeeper after Ben Foster's departure to West Brom.

Just a few months later though, Butland was snapped up by Premier League outfit Stoke City, with Birmingham cashing in for £3.3 million as they continued to struggle with their finances.

Remaining on loan at Birmingham for the remainder of 2012-13, Butland never really went on to fulfil his potential afterward and he had to wait another two full seasons before he was really given a chance with the Potters, and in recent years he has been a backup at the likes of Crystal Palace and Man United.

At the age of 30 though, Butland was taken north of the border by Michael Beale to Rangers this past summer, giving him a chance to play regular football - but news of Birmingham's interest could potentially turn his head, and the right offer could potentially see his time at Ibrox cut short.

Should Rooney get his wish and land Butland, let's take a look at a winner and a loser at Birmingham.

Loser: John Ruddy

The obvious loser in the situation that would take Butland back to Birmingham is their current first-choice stopper in the form of John Ruddy.

Some eyebrows would probably have been raised by City supporters last summer if they were to realise that Ruddy would be the undisputed first-choice of John Eustace in the 2022-23 season, but the veteran stopper proved his worth and then some despite his advancing years.

In his 43 league appearances, Ruddy kept 13 clean sheets and even though he is now 36 years of age, he is still keeping pretty high standards.

If Butland were to arrive though, then he would no doubt be installed as first-choice from the get-go, leaving Ruddy relegated to the deputy goalkeeper, and that is not what he would probably want despite the fact he's probably coming to the final few years of his career.

Winner: Tom Wagner

Wagner had been doing everything right since his summer takeover, with City fans wanting a change for a long time from their Far East ownership.

The decision to part company with Eustace so early into the season though, with Birmingham sitting in sixth position in the Championship, has raised a lot of eyebrows and very much divided the supporter base.

However, if the American hedge fund manager were to provide the funds to entice Butland back to the Midlands, then there would be no criticisms whatsoever.