Brighton’s interest in James Tavernier doesn’t seem to have waned as they remain keen, according to Sky Sports News.
Steven Gerrard is just off of claiming that his captain won’t leave for anything other than an awful lot of money. Brighton, however, are keeping him locked as a potential target ahead of the January transfer window.
The Seagulls were interested in the Gers captain last summer. Yet, despite having him on their shortlist, they refused to make a move. Instead, West Bromwich Albion tried to pinch him on the cheap before Rangers rebuffed their efforts.
Brighton have several players who can play right-back, but it’s not their strongest positions. This could be why they’re interested in Tavernier so strongly. Their current right-back, Bruno, is out of contract in the summer. If any move was therefore going to be made on Rangers’ captain then it would likely be in January.
An interesting development
It’s interesting that this has come out so quickly after Rangers stated he’s going nowhere. Gerrard was quick to point out that everyone at Ibrox is for sale, but only for “new prices” and not the old prices.
Gers supporters can be safe in the knowledge that Rangers hold all the aces when it comes to Tavernier. After all, the former Newcastle defender signed a new contract just last month, and sees his long-term future at Ibrox. The Gers are likely to rebuff any attempt from Brighton to land their key figure.
You have to imagine that anything less than eight-figures won’t even be listened to by Gerrard and the Ibrox board. Rangers aren’t in a position anymore where they drastically need money. Now, the club can play hard-ball with clubs looking to nab their top talent.
Rangers are already fairly tight at right-back as it is. Outside of Tavernier, only Jon Flanagan is a natural right-sided full-back.
It’s important to stress that no move has yet been made on Rangers’ star-man. According to Sky Sports, Brighton simply haven’t dropped him from interest and certainly don’t seem scared of having to splash out big cash.
Rangers supporters can be delighted to see that their club are finally demanding their true value for players. Nobody can now pinch Rangers’ best talent for next to nothing, and instead will have to pay top dollar. West Brom found that out the hard way in the summer.
If Brighton eventually make a move, they’ll find out exactly that also.
