Rangers pursuing move for “unbelievable” star

Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement will know that he has a huge job on his hands to turn the club’s fortunes around on the pitch.

The Ibrox giants are already nine points adrift of the top two teams in the Scottish Premiership, after losing three of their league games already this season.

Clement and head of recruitment Nils Koppen could use the upcoming January transfer window to bolster the squad and take further steps towards building a team that suits the manager.

One player who is reportedly on the chopping block is club captain James Tavernier. Football Insider recently reported that the Gers are planning to cash in on him at the end of the season.

The outlet claimed that his underwhelming performances on the pitch have led the board to the feeling that now is the right time to move the skipper on, with his contract set to expire in the summer of 2026.

Football Insider added that the Gers are also working on signing a replacement for the Englishman and that a new addition could come in during the January window, five months before they plan to sell Tavernier.

Rangers eyeing English full-back

According to The Boot Room, Rangers are interested in Wrexham full-back Ryan Barnett ahead of the January transfer window, which is less than two months away.

The report claims that Clement is in pursuit of a deal to bring the 25-year-old star to Ibrox to bolster his options across the backline for the second half of the season and beyond.

It does not reveal, however, how much the English League One side would want for the player, who is contracted to the club through to the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

RangersNews also claims that the Ibrox giants have been keeping tabs on his performances in League One for the celebrity-owned team, whilst it adds that Wrexham supporters have been comparing him to Brazilian legend Cafu because of his attack-minded displays down the right flank.

Meanwhile, they could face some competition for his services. The Telegraph recently reported that both Stoke City and Preston North End are eyeing up a possible swoop for the English whiz, which suggests that Rangers will have to convince him to turn down a move to the Championship in favour of a switch to Scotland.

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Clement and Koppen must now push to secure a deal for Barnett ahead of the likes of Preston and Stoke, because he could come in as a dream replacement for James Tavernier.

James Tavernier’s form for Rangers this season

The English veteran has been criticised by supporters at times this season, with The BBC publishing reactions from fans to Clement’s recent decision to drop him against Olympiacos.

Among the replies, some fans highlighted his ‘suspect’ and ‘weak’ defensive work, with one supporter describing Tavernier as a ‘shadow of himself’ this term.

The 33-year-old, who was told he “needs to look” at the defensive side of his game by Steven Whittaker last year, was found wanting in the only Old Firm clash of the season so far, failing to deal with a ball across the box that his man – Daizen Maeda – scored from in a 3-0 win for Celtic.

Tavernier’s play in possession of the ball has not been efficient or effective enough to make up for his defensive frailties, unfortunately, as he has often been wasteful for Rangers in the Premiership.

Last season, the Englishman scored 17 goals and created 19 ‘big chances’ in 38 league appearances, which shows that he had a huge impact at the top end of the pitch.

As you can see in the table above, Tavernier is yet to find the back of the net in the current league campaign and has lost possession a staggering 220 times, to provide three assists.

These statistics, along with his poor dribble success rate, show that the 33-year-old dud is giving the ball away far too much, without making much of an impact at the top end of the pitch to make it worthwhile.

This is why it could be the right time for the board to make the decision to cash in on the captain, whether that is in January or next summer, and Barnett could come in as Tavernier 2.0 for the Gers.

Why Ryan Barnett could be James Tavernier 2.0

The Wrexham star is not a goalscoring threat from right-back, like the Rangers captain, but other players could step up to take care of the skipper’s penalty duties.

He has only scored one goal in the league this season, the winner against Mansfield, and teammate Max Cleworth said: “Barney has been unbelievable this year. We know he has that finishing in him, we saw it last year, especially the second goal he scored against Forest Green here, so we know he can do it.”

What Barnett can provide from that position on a regular basis, however, is outstanding creativity, based on his sublime form in League One for his club in the 2024/25 campaign.

As you can see in the table above, the 25-year-old ace has provided a huge amount of creativity from right-back for Wrexham, with 29 chances created and five assists in just 13 games.

He lost possession 17.5 times per game on average, compared to Tavernier’s 20 times per match, and recorded more goals and more assists than the Rangers captain, suggesting that the Light Blues target could be more effective and efficient.

This suggests that the potential is there for Barnett to offer more in the final third than the Gers hero is currently offering, which is why he could be an excellent addition to the squad.

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The Wrexham star has also only been dribbled past 0.2 times per game, compared to Tavernier’s 0.5 in the Premiership, and could offer more solidity defensively than the ex-Newcastle man.

It is now down to Clement and Koppen to get a deal over the line for the English star, as he could come in as a fantastic replacement for the captain.