Manchester United are in talks with Crystal Palace over a loan move for goalkeeper Jack Butland

Manchester United are in talks over a loan move for Crystal Palace goalkeeper Jack Butland.

The Old Trafford club are looking for a back-up keeper after Martin Dubravka returned to parent club Newcastle.

And Butland, who is No 2 to Vicente Guaita at Selhurst Park, has been identified as the man Erik ten Hag wants to provide competition for David de Gea and there is hope of a deal being struck.

Manchester United are in talks over a loan move for Crystal Palace goalkeeper Jack Butland

Dubravka was loaned to Old Trafford from Newcastle for the first half of the season, but the Magpies recalled the Slovakian stopper last week.

He made two appearances in total for United – both in the Carabao Cup – and was regularly Erik ten Hag’s No 2 stopper behind David de Gea.

And following his departure, they are hoping to bring in Butland as a back-up option.

Butland, 29, was once one of the highest-rated English goalkeepers – called up to England’s Euro 2012 squad aged just 19 – while he also became the youngest goalkeeper to represent the England Men’s team in August 2012.

After making his breakthrough at Birmingham, he became one of the Premier League’s strongest goalkeepers while at Stoke and became a regular in England squads.

United are looking for a back-up keeper after Martin Dubravka returned to Newcastle

Erik ten Hag has identified Butland as the man to give competition to David de Gea (above)

However, his form dipped after their relegation to the Championship in 2018 and he moved to Crystal Palace in 2020 where he has served as back-up to Vicente Guaita ever since.

Following the arrival of Sam Johnstone in the summer he faces further competition for game time and has failed to make an appearance this season – although he has also missed large parts of the campaign with a broken finger.

United currently have Tom Heaton and Nathan Bishop as back-up options to De Gea, and Sportsmail previously reported that they plan to wait to make a decision on whether to sign a replacement for Dubravka.

However, Butland has emerged as a target and his potential arrival is helped by the fact that he will be counted on as a home-grown player if he arrives at Old Trafford.

Butland has played 17 times for Palace since 2020 and has served as Vicente Guaita’s back-up

In total, the 29-year-old has made 17 appearances for Palace in all competitions and played a key role in their run to the FA Cup semi-finals last season – while he has also won nine caps for England – even though he played last. for the Three Lions in 2018.

United currently sit in fourth place after a superb run of form which has seen them pick up 23 points from their last 10 Premier League games.

They face Everton in the FA Cup this weekend and Charlton in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday, before returning to league action with a mouth-watering Manchester derby at Man City next Saturday.