‘I’ll go there’: ‘Fantastic’ Rangers player says he actually could’ve signed for Chelsea

Chelsea have had their fair share of transfer near misses over the years.

Sergio Aguero nearly signed for Chelsea at one point, while Chelsea narrowly missed out on Victor Osimhen last year too.

There are countless tales of players who nearly signed for Chelsea, and now, speaking on Ben Foster’s Podcast, another player has shared their tale of how they almost headed to Stamford Bridge.

Indeed, Rangers goalkeeper, Jack Butland, says that he had the option to join Chelsea as a teenager before he made his move to Stoke City.

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Jack Butland could’ve signed for Chelsea

Butland spoke about his options when he got his move to the Premier League.

Butland was hot property after bursting onto the scene for Birmingham City, and according to the England international, Chelsea were in for him.

However, after some deliberation, Butland decided against joining Chelsea due to the fact he’d have to compete with Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois.

“But at that time, was it just that nobody else really needed a goalkeeper?” Foster asked.

Yeah. There was, at the same time, there was Chelsea at the time. And they had Petr Cech and Courtois.

“And I was 19 and I was still stupid enough to think, be fine. I’ll go there. We’ll do that.

“And because you’re young, you’re confident, you’re stupid at that age. You just are. You don’t care.

“But eventually felt like, no, I can go somewhere. I’ll establish myself. I’ll go and show and then I’ll kick on again.”

Jack Butland’s Premier League stats

Butland decided against joining Chelsea to sign for Stoke City.

The England goalkeeper was then Stoke’s number one for the best part of a decade, but, ultimately, he would end up being relegated with The Potters in 2018.

Butland would eventually make his Premier League return with Crystal Palace, but he failed to secure the number one spot with the Eagles.

Butland’s stats in the Premier League are respectable to say the least.

Once upon a time, Butland was seen as one of the better goalkeepers in the country, Joe Hart labelled Butland as ‘fantastic’, via SportsMole, once upon a time, and nowadays, he’s the number one with Rangers at Ibrox.

Ultimately, Butland probably made the right decision in rejecting Chelsea, as he may have been condemned to life on the bench had he headed to Stamford Bridge at that point.

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