It was always going to be a rebuilding job at Ibrox when Gerrard took over, and with only one summer under his belt, that’s set to continue for the Rangers Manager next year. But it’s unlikely we’ll see as many as the 15 players which joined this year come into Ibrox.
We’ll get a better idea of the Gaffer’s vision for the side come the start of the next campaign. Does that mean 3-5 players of real quality or will it be a scattergun of talent? Either way, it is likely we’ll keep the real nucleus of the first team that we have in place currently.
But what about those leaving the club?
Splitting them into three categories (very likely, maybe, hopefully not), we look at the whopping 15 players who could leave Ibrox in the next window.
Very likely – EIGHT
This group concerns players who’ve already intimated their intentions to move on, those who’re hovering on the out-skirts of the team or those whose time has been spent and are currently out on loan. From the Notts Forest loanee Joe Worrall telling The Sun he’s happy to return to his parent club, to Wes Foderingham telling The Daily Record he is keeping his options open, some good players will go.
But are the rest anywhere near the standard we demand at Ibrox?
Joe Worrall (loan), Wes Foderingham, Gareth McAuley (contract), Joe Dodoo, Jason Holt, Lee Hodson (contract), Eduardo Herrera
Maybe – SIX
There’s six players whose Rangers futures are on the fence looking at the new campaign. Defoe signed a six month loan with the option of 18 months in January. He might yet decide Scotland isn’t for him, or we might look elsewhere. Steven Davis has struggled to settle since returning to Ibrox, and Lassana Coulibaly might not represent value for money following the arrival of Glen Kamara.
But it’s Liverpool loanee Ryan Kent’s Ibrox career which most fans will want to prolong. Kent told The Evening Times himself he’s enjoying it at Rangers, giving hope to supporters. As for Jon Flanagan and Graham Dorrans, they’ve found themselves on the fringes at Ibrox and Dorrans is running out of time to prove his fitness.
Jermain Defoe (loan), Steven Davis (loan), Lassana Coulibaly (loan), Ryan Kent (loan), Jon Flanagan, Graham Dorrans
Hopefully not – TWO
Loanees aside, the two first teamers rumoured with Ibrox exits are captain James Tavernier and talisman Alfredo Morelos. Alfredo Morelos was most recently linked with Real Betis by Football Scotland, but told Colombian radio station Caracol he was happy at Ibrox.
James Tavernier has barely survived a single transfer window without transfer talk surrounding his name. Tav was linked with a £7m move down south in the last window.
The good news is that if either of our two best players move, it’ll be for mega dosh. So it might fill the coffers for our run at Europe and the title next year. But could we really replace their quality and influence?
James Tavernier, Alfredo Morelos
