Arsenal join Sunderland in £1m race for England Under 21 goalkeeper Butland



By Sami Mokbel for the Daily Mail

Arsenal are looking to continue their commitment to youth by launching a swoop for England Under 21 goalkeeper Jack Butland.

The Birmingham keeper - who is currently on loan at Cheltenham - has been watched regularly by Gunners scouts this season.

On the radar: Arsenal are keeping tabs on Jack Butland

And Arsenal took a key step towards cementing their interest in the 18-year-old after influential chief scout Steve Rowley and goalkeeping coach Gerry Peyton ran the rule over the 18-year-old in England Under-21's 5-0 thrashing of Iceland last Thursday.

The Gunners had Butland watched yet again in Stuart Pearce side's 2-1 defeat in Belgium on Monday night.

Despite having not played a senior match for Birmingham, the Championship side demonstrated their faith in the teenager by handing him a four-year deal which expires in 2015.

Nevertheless, the Gunners are primed to make a move for Butland who has impressed Arsenal spies this season.

Sunderland are also interested and have been linked with a £1milllion January move for Butland.

The final decision on the potential swoop will be left to manager Arsene Wenger, who views current No. 1 Wojciech Szczesny as Arsenal's long-term goalkeeper. Szczesny's current standing as the club's first choice would leave question marks over Butland's progression into the first-team.

But with Manuel Almunia and Vito Mannone up for sale and Lukasz Fabianski keen to leave on loan to boost his Euro 2012 chances, Butland features strongly on Arsenal's radar.





