A comment made by Rangers boss Steven Gerrard after Saturday’s 1-0 friendly defeat to Tranmere Rovers suggests that Brandon Barker is in his plans for 2021/22 [RangersTV].
Barker only made 13 appearances over the first half of last season before being sent out on loan to Oxford United, where he had mixed fortunes.
His playing time increased at the League One outfit, as he turned out 22 times – scoring three goals and notching four assists – but he didn’t perform to a level that brought about many calls for him to be brought back into the fold at Ibrox.
Some Bears see plenty of potential in the pacy winger, but others feel he hasn’t contributed anywhere near enough since joining from Manchester City in the summer of 2019.
For now, at least, it looks as though Steven Gerrard agrees with those in the former camp.
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Barker’s contract is up next summer so the Gers would likely need to move him on now if they wanted to receive a fee, but it seems as though Gerrard feels he has a role to play during the upcoming season.
The 24-year-old played the second half of Saturday’s defeat at Tranmere and after the game, the manager highlighted the return of Barker and Kent as positives to take from the day.
After praising new signing John Lundstram for his debut display in a RangersTV interview, he added: “Obviously getting 45 minutes into Ryan [Kent] and Brandon is a positive as well, although, obviously, the performances aren’t there from those two just yet.”
That sounds like good news for Barker fans, with the former Man City starlet set to compete with the likes of Kent and Scott Wright for minutes going forward.
The futures of fellow wide men Jordan Jones and Glenn Middleton are less clear right now.
Both players have featured in Rangers’ opening two pre-season fixtures but have failed to impress.
Meanwhile, a European club have reportedly tabled a £4m bid for a reported Rangers target who’s been described as the ‘new Erling Haaland’.