Jack Butland has not done his hopes of a return to the Premier League much good after making two costly errors in Stoke’s Championship defeat at Preston.
Here, PA charts the highs and lows of a goalkeeper who has often been held up as a potential international star.
High
Having progressed through the schoolboy ranks at Birmingham, Butland made his Football League debut on loan for Cheltenham in a 2-0 win over Macclesfield in September 2011.
Low
Butland let a shot from Ji Dong-won slip through his hands as Great Britain crashed out of the London 2012 Olympics at the quarter-final stage. GB’s penalty shoot-out defeat meant they exited with no medals.
High
Butland made his Premier League debut for Stoke against Everton on New Year’s Day 2014, when he replaced the injured Thomas Sorensen at half-time. Two weeks later he made his first start in a 5-3 defeat to Liverpool.
Low
Butland’s upward trajectory stalled when he suffered an ankle injury in March 2016. Butland was forced to undergo two further surgeries and was ruled out until April. The following season, he suffered relegation with Stoke.
High
Butland became England’s youngest goalkeeper at 19 years and 158 days when he was picked to start in a friendly against Italy in August 2012. He was replaced at half-time by John Ruddy.
Low
Having made two bad errors in a 3-1 defeat at Preston, Butland, who had previously expressed his desire to return to the Premier League, was threatened with the axe by Stoke boss Nathan Jones.
