Rangers boss Michael Beale has opened the door for midfielder Ryan Jack to sign a new contract and stay at Ibrox.
The attention isn’t fully turning to next season just yet but Rangers do have some contract decisions to make.
Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent are the most high-profile players out of contract at Rangers this summer.
Then there are a host of other decisions to make with Allan McGregor, Filip Helander and Scott Arfield also becoming free agents.
Jack is another one, with the 31-year-old just a few months away from being able to leave for nothing.
Football Insider reported earlier this month that Bundesliga clubs are interested in signing Jack this summer.
Yet it sounds like Beale would be happy for Jack to stay put at Ibrox for a little while yet.
Michael Beale talks up Ryan Jack amid Rangers contract uncertainty
Rangers boss Beale has now spoken to the Daily Record about Jack’s contract situation at Ibrox.
Beale has talked up Jack as an ‘excellent player’ and praised his performance against Hibernian as ‘fantastic’.
Beale did though highlight that Jack needs to be managed and taken out of the team at times, which the midfielder doesn’t really like.
The former Aberdeen man is somebody that ‘sets the standard’ in Beale’s eyes though and the Rangers boss wants to work with Jack for a while yet.
Beale added that conversations over a new deal have been held and he even thinks that a new deal may have been sorted a while ago had Rangers not changed managers in November.
“A fit Ryan Jack is an excellent player for Rangers and I thought he was fantastic in midweek. I have to manage him at times to make sure he’s fit and available. He doesn’t like that because he trains the way he plays and he wants to play every week,” said Beale. “But he sets the standard for us and Ryan is certainly a player I want to work with moving forward here at the club. He’s a fine footballer and the only thing that has stopped him going even further are the injury spells he’s had.”
“Every manager who has worked with him at Rangers, Aberdeen and Scotland has always had them as a key part of their team and changing room. We’ve had a couple of conversations already. Like most players, he wants his future sorted out. If there wasn’t a change of manager in the middle of the season, maybe one or two things would have been sorted out. But it’s right that I’ve taken time to look, assess and see where the group is at,” he added.
With Davis and Arfield likely to be finished at Rangers, keeping Jack may become vital for Beale.
New energy is needed in the middle of the park but Jack is a leader at Rangers and is clearly valued around the club.
Jack’s experience could be vital alongside a relative youngster in Nicolas Raskin, so we can see Rangers sorting out a new deal with the Scot and ending those Bundesliga rumours once and for all.
