BUTLAND IN RUNNING TO TAKE OVER FROM HART
GARETH SOUTHGATE is giving serious consideration to axing Joe Hart and selecting Jack Butland as his goalkeeper for the World Cup double header against Malta and Slovakia. While the England manager will assess both goalkeepers in training this week before making a final decision, he is understood to be leaning towards the 24-year-old Stoke City No 1. Hart is the man in possession of the jersey, having started against both Scotland and France in June. But his unconvincing performance in the 2-2 draw against Scotland at Hampden and a difficult start to the season at West Ham has done little to ease concerns over the 30-year-old’s form. It is now 23 club games since Hart last kept a clean sheet. Butland, by contrast, has enjoyed a decent start to the new campaign, with Southgate watching him help Stoke secure an impressive 1-0 defeat of Arsenal at the bet365 Stadium earlier this month. Last week, Southgate acknowledged the intensity of the competition for the England goalkeeping spot and he also recognises the need to give the likes of Butland more international experience ahead of next summer’s World Cup. Butland has only five caps to his name, his last appearance coming in a friendly against Germany in March 2016 when he suffered a serious ankle injury. Tomorrow’s match in Malta seems a good opportunity to recall Butland when a side lacking in quality and undermined by a number of suspensions to key players should pose few problems for Southgate’s men. The meeting with Slovakia at Wembley on Monday, while a more difficult test, could also provide valuable experience considering it could mark England’s qualification for Russia 2018 should other results go their way. Southgate is certainly a big admirer of Butland, having selected him as captain when in charge of England’s Under-21 side. He also wants to appoint a permanent England captain following Wayne Rooney’s shock international retirement. Southgate had previously indicated that he wouldn’t select a full-time skipper, choosing, instead, to share the armband around a leadership group. The national team manager has named five different captains since taking over from Sam Allardyce: Rooney, Gary Cahill, Hart, Jordan Henderson and Harry Kane. But Southgate is understood to now want to appoint a full-time skipper, acknowledging that his squad would benefit from having a recognised figurehead. Tottenham’s Kane and Henderson of Liverpool are the two leading contenders for the armband. The identity of tomorrow night’s captain against Malta will provide a huge indicator as to who Southgate is likely to appoint on a permanent basis. Southgate, meanwhile, has warned his players they have to be playing regular football to be assured of a place in his World Cup plans. And the manager has already shown that he is prepared to axe players from his squad who are not playing regularly, with Rooney having been omitted last season due to his lack of action at Manchester United. Southgate has told his players he expects them to be gaining regular game time ahead of Russia 2018.