Rangers have signed goalkeeper Jack Butland on a pre-contract, subject to international clearance.
The 30-year-old, who has nine England caps, will officially move to Ibrox on July 1 after agreeing a four-year deal, following the expiry of his contract at Crystal Palace.
Butland had been on loan at Manchester United this season and will compete with Jon McLaughlin and Robby McCrorie to become Rangers’ new No 1 after Allan McGregor’s departure at the end of his deal.
- Scottish Premiership: How did your club’s season go?
- Transfer Centre LIVE! | Papers – latest headlines
- Get Sky Sports | Download the Sky Sports app
Manager Michael Beale has already signed youngster Dujon Sterling from Chelsea and midfielder Kieran Dowell from Norwich.
‘This is a huge opportunity for me’
Speaking after signing for Rangers, Butland said: “I’m over the moon. The club speaks for itself. No matter where you are in football, you know about Rangers Football Club. This is a huge opportunity for me, and I’m delighted to be here.
“I feel great and motivated at the age that I am, and I feel excited at what the future holds. Doing that at a club that is equally as passionate about winning and being at the top was huge for me.
“It’s an important summer for the club and we need to get off to a good start. Getting the work done early is hugely important, so that we’re settled and raring to go when we come back in.”
Beale added: “I am delighted that we have recruited Jack. It was clear from our first meeting that we have a strong alignment on football and his development moving forward.
“At 30, he is coming into the prime years of his career having already amassed huge experience with 300 appearances in senior football, including almost 90 in the Premier League.
“In addition, he has played for England at every level, including nine caps for the senior team and five for the Great Britain Olympic team. I feel that we have recruited an excellent goalkeeper and, importantly, a top person. We are delighted to have Jack and his young family arriving in Glasgow and look forward to seeing him excel in his time at Rangers.”
How do Rangers win the league next season?
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Gers boss Beale has made no secret of his desire to add several new faces to his squad before the players return for pre-season training.
Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent, McGregor and Scott Arfield were among the end-of-season departures – with Beale now looking to bring in players who can “grow for the next two or three seasons”.
On how he plans to catch Celtic, the Ibrox boss told Sky Sports: “We start how we’re ending with our style being very clear, our energy being very strong on the pitch in terms of our pressing and the bits out of possession.
“We’ll look to recruit a spine that’s enabled to stay at Rangers for the next three to five years to build on.
“You’ve seen the start of that with Nico Raskin and Todd Cantwell coming in and Kieran Dowell. We’ll look to add to that with a little bit of experience but certainly in terms of quality in the final third.
“You’ll be able to tell by my face at the start of pre-season whether I’ve been successful in getting everyone that I want but either way we’ll come back into pre-season next year with a few new ideas that I’ve wanted to implement. We need to go and recruit a certain type of player for that. We’ll come back stronger.
“Our league form in the last 24 games would say if we can get to that stage where we are now, we’ll be in the mix. It’ll be about getting to the March international break where we need to be and then going for it.”
Follow Rangers with Sky Sports
Follow every Rangers game in the Scottish Premiership this season with our live blogs on the Sky Sports website and app, and watch match highlights for free.
Want the Rangers latest? Bookmark our Rangers news page, check out Rangers’ fixtures and Rangers’ latest results, watch Rangers’ goals and video, keep track of the Scottish Premiership table and see which Rangers games are coming up live on Sky Sports.
Get all this and more – including notifications sent straight to your phone – by downloading the Sky Sports Scores app and setting Rangers as your favourite team.