Rangers midfield is taking shape under Michael Beale which, hopefully, will mean that there won’t be a repeat of the Ross Barkley transfer rumours of last year.
In the summer of 2022 the Light Blues were looking for midfield reinforcements, Nicolas Raskin was linked, as was Darius Olaru, however, none of them ever materialised, much to Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s cost.
With Nice confirming that the former Chelsea midfielder has been released from his contract, Rangers need to avoid another Aaron Ramsey scenario with previously-linked Ross Barkley.
Good player as he is, the 33-times capped England international has never fulfilled the early promise that saw him compared to Paul Gascoigne.
Now 29-years old, he should be at his peak, but chances of him rediscovering the form that saw him play for his country seem like a remote possibility.
Ramsey might have been injury prone, but you could at least see flashes of what he was capable of.
Ross Barkley would be expensive and there simply isn’t room for him in Rangers squad anymore.
Why Rangers should avoid expensive Ross Barkley punt
Kieran Dowell has been signed and Jose Cifuentes should be on his way.
Add this to the two January acquisitions of Raskin and Cantwell and the midfield is looking good.
Young, dynamic and reliable.
Three things that Barkley used to be at his peak but can no longer claim to be.
To a Premier League club, he might be worth the punt.
As a rotation option he could still offer something off the bench but, for the wages he would be on, Rangers simply couldn’t justify the outlay.
Last summer, on a free, it might have made sense.
This year though is a different matter and Michael Beale shouldn’t touch this one with a barge pole.
