This summer has been another one of high-profile departures at Rangers.
Borna Barisic and John Lundstram swapped Ibrox for Trabzonspor in Turkey. Ryan Jack has gone too. In fact, only three years on from that glorious if short-lived Scottish Premiership triumph under Steven Gerrard, only five players remain.
Could that number go down to four before the summer is over?
Well, the rumours linking James Tavernier with a departure of his own continue to swirl.
According to Yagız Sabuncuoglu – one of the most reliable sources in Turkish football – there is a very real chance that the Ibrox skipper joins Barisic and Lundstram on the banks of the black sea. The long-serving Rangers captain has reportedly agreed personal terms with Trabzonspor.
Interest from Saudi Arabia – particularly Gerrard’s own Al-Ettifaq outfit – lingers too.
So the claims emerging from South America on Thursday – suggesting that Rangers had joined the race to sign Edier Ocampo from Atletico Nacional – does little to dispel those Tavernier rumours.
Rangers eye Edier Ocampo amid James Tavernier links
Ocampo is, after all, a right-back too. At just 20, he is a decade Tavernier’s junior and potentially a ready-made replacement.
Swasbuckling and boasting an eye for goal – he scored three times across 2023/24 – Ocampo also appears to have the raw attributes to take Tavernier’s place should Rangers lose their skipper over the coming weeks or months.
According to Colombia Scouts on X, the ‘strongest offers’ so far have come from Toulouse in France and from Major League Soccer. But there is also interest from Rangers and Serie A outfit Hellas Verona.
With explosive pace, fine ball-carrying ability and the attacking talents to play further forward on the wing, Ocampo is a very modern sort of full-back.
A better attacker than he is a defender, the Colombia Under 20 international could fit in well at a Rangers side who tend to dominate possession domestically and often rely on their widemen to break open a tightly-organised backline.
According to ESPN – amid claims that a move to Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada is on the cards – Atletico Nacional may sell Ocampo for around £1.6 million.
The player himself, meanwhile, admits any departure from Atletico will be emotional to say the least. It was Los Verdolagas, after all, who gave him his break in the senior game.
Colombia youngster can move to Ibrox for less than £2m
“I’m focused on Nacional and so on. Whatever God wants, whatever happens, happens,” says Ocampo, who also confirms that he has been made aware that ‘an offer has arrived’ from Vancouver Whitecaps.
“And it’s a bit difficult for Nacional. They’ve done so many things for almost all of the youth players, like helping their families, giving them a little house…
“It’s hard to leave someone who has done practically everything for you. And if I leave, or any of my teammates, we’ll keep in mind that we love Nacional. We’ll give everything for the team, even if sometimes things don’t go our way.
“We love this team.”
