Birmingham City stopper Jack Butland on his way to chelsea fc

Chelsea are preparing a £3m move for Birmingham City stopper Jack Butland during the January transfer window, according to the Mirror. The 19-year-old Bristol born goalkeeper has been impressive for the Championship side and has long been linked with a move to Liverpool this month.

                       Jack Butland has been strongly linked with a move to Liverpool in January.

The report suggests the European champions are looking to sign the young starlet during the winter transfer window and send him on loan so that the England international gets regular play time. The Blues have the services of Petr Cech and Belgian international Thibaut Courtois at goal, with the later currently being on a long term loan at Atletico Madrid, which is set to expire at the end of the season.

The Championship side are facing financial turmoil and the club is looking to sell players in order to raise funds. In addition to this, Birmingham manager Lee Clark recently admitted the club would be forced to sell Butland before the end of the January transfer window.Earlier Butland's agent Gary Mellor claimed Birmingham should lower the asking price in order to sell their star player during the current transfer window. Mellor also revealed there are several clubs interested in the services of client but has not matched the asking price of the Championship side.

"There's a lot of clubs interested but no one yet has matched Birmingham's valuation. I think it depends on who else they could sell really because if they are looking to solve all their financial woes with the Jack deal then it's going to be more difficult. But if they can sell someone else as well then maybe a number of clubs would be interested and that might make a difference," Butland's agent explained. Should the report be true, it could be a major blow for another youngster, Courtois, who is set to hold talks with Chelsea regarding his long-term future at the Stamford Bridge. However, the Belgian international has admitted he would like to continue his stay at Spain as the Sun reports La Liga leaders Barcelona are interested in signing the stopper as a replacement for contract rebel Victor Valdes.