The future of Rangers captain James Tavernier looked to have been settled when the transfer window slammed shut on August 30th.
But after a snarling supporter launched an astonishing rant at the Rangers skipper following the 3-0 humbling at the hands of Celtic, Tav’s future is once again the centre of discussion.
HITC transfer guru Graeme Bailey has suggested that clubs in Qatar and Turkey had been alerted to Tavernier’s availability following the circulation of the clip online.
The same source claimed that Rangers could target Republic of Ireland full-back Cyrus Christie as a free-agent replacement in the event of the captain’s exit.
Now, a report in Turkey is claiming that former Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst is stepping up Besiktas interest in James Tavernier before the Super Lig’s transfer window comes to a close.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst wants James Tavernier
Rangers News exclusively revealed that Giovanni van Bronckhorst wanted to bring Rangers captain James Tavernier to Besiktas earlier in the summer.
This was at the same time as Rangers were fielding offers from Trabzsonspor for Tavernier with the Turks hoping to convince the Gers skipper to join John Lundstram and Borna Barisic on Turkey’s Black Sea coast.
But as the European summer transfer period rolled to a close, it looked like a move to Bestikas was increasingly unlikely until the incident at Ibrox last weekend.
Now, Fotomac are claiming that Besiktas are ready to ramp up their interest in James Tavernier as they look to add an offensive right-back to their ranks.
It’s claimed that Giovanni van Bronckhorst is keen on the move and that Besiktas have actually met with Tavernier’s agents to discuss the costs involved in a transfer.
The report then claims that Tavernier has a market value of €6.5m (£5.5m).
It comes with the Turkish transfer window set to close on Friday 13th September.
Could Rangers captain leave Ibrox for Besiktas?
Whilst Rangers fans have learned to take Turkish reporting with a pinch of salt in recent seasons, the situation with James Tavernier is a huge cause for concern.
On purely playing terms, Tavernier has lost an inch since a pre-season injury and is routinely targeted by opposition teams due to his defensive weaknesses.
Given the relentlessness of Daizen Maeda in the Old Firm derby battle, there are now serious questions about Tavernier’s on-pitch ability to handle this fixture.
But at the same time, in full flow the Rangers skipper is a relentless presence down the club’s right-hand side and is one of the Gers’ only reliable sources of goals and assists.
With several of the club’s biggest players leaving Ibrox this summer too – Connor Goldson, Borna Barisic, John Lundstram, Ryan Jack and Kemar Roofe amongst them – Tav is the most experienced player in the club’s youthful squad.
The abuse aimed at the Rangers captain outside Ibrox was inexcusable, as is much of the ill-will being aimed at Tav on the internet.
Now in his 10th season at Rangers, Tavernier has been well-used to bouncing back in the face of criticism or his own shortcomings and has shown huge character to deliver time and again for the club.
Does the Rangers captain have one last show of defiance in him or will Tav move out to Turkey before the transfer window finally closes?
The next few days will be telling.
