Let’s have captain Jack

IT IS a pity that Jack Butland — who looks to have all the strength of character and leadership attributes to be a long-term England captain — is not a first-team regular.

But if Butland, who started last night’s qualifier in Lithuania, does replace Joe Hart as England’s first- choice goalkeeper before next summer’s World Cup, he will have to come into the reckoning, such is his strong personality.

Southgate, who had Butland alongside him for media conferences before the Lithuania game, made the Stoke keeper his England Under 21 skipper. Southgate has continually made clear he will not be hurried into naming a permanent captain.

lIT

EMERGED from Sir Martin Sorrell’s talk at the Leaders in Sport conference that streaming giants Amazon Prime were keen on becoming Barcelona’s shirt sponsors. The deal broke down a year ago because Barcelona’s kit suppliers Nike had no retail agreement with Amazon. Not long after, Nike started selling their wares on the internet platform.