Aston Villa ready to launch £20m Jack Butland bid to prise keeper away from Stoke

ASTON VILLA are ready to launch a £20million bid to prise Jack Butland away from Stoke City this week.

The Potters value the 26-year-old England keeper at £23million – a price-tag which stopped fellow admirers Bournemouth and Crystal Palace in their tracks and forced them to reassess their options.

However Villa manager Dean Smith is determined to land a top class keeper with Premier experience.

Former England stopper Butland fits the bill.

Crucially, Villa’s wealthy owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have the financial muscle to sanction the move for Butland, who seemed set to replace Joe Hart as England’s No1 until injury allowed Jordan Pickford to overtake him in the run up to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Butland has been Pickford's back-up ever since but did not play a minute of football in the Nations League, last playing in the friendly against Switzerland in September.

Villa will test Stoke’s resolve with a bid of around £20million expected this week.

Ironically, that could result in a windfall for Villa’s City rivals Birmingham City who had a 20 per cent sell-on clause included in the deal when they sold Butland to Stoke.

A bid of £20m would see Villa's bitter rivals Birmingham get a £4million windfall.