Rangers are already plotting for the January transfer window as they look to recover from a woeful start to the season under Philippe Clement.
Rangers well off the pace
After finishing as runners-up to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish Cup last season, Rangers were expected to challenge once more this term as Clement appeared to have figured out a winning formula.
However, that has proved far from the case, and the Ibrox side have made a horror start to the Scottish season. Knocked out of the Champions League in the qualification stage by Dynamo Kyiv, they also sit a massive nine points off the pace in Scotland at the November international break.
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Behind both Celtic and Aberdeen, who have won all but the game between each other, Clement’s side have lost three times already this campaign – already half as many times as they did throughout the entire first phase of the 23/24 season.
It has left Clement’s future at the helm in doubt, with the Rangers boss in need of a strong set of results to begin turning things around. One silver lining has been their Europa League campaign so far, with the club having picked up two wins and a draw from their opening four games and on course to qualify for the knockout stages as things stand.
But one problem continues to dominate the headlines – and now Rangers may have found a solution.
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Rangers ready to sell “exceptional” defender
That comes as Football Insider reports that the Scottish giants are ready to part ways with James Tavernier, and could set the wheels in motion for his exit as soon as the January transfer window as the club have now started to seek a replacement.
The long-term servant and club captain has endured a rough few months under Clement. The Rangers boss dubbed him “exceptional” after he broke the British goalscoring record for defenders in March, but his defensive capabilities have always been questioned, and they have once again reared their head this season, leading to Tavernier being left on the bench for their 1-1 draw with Olympiacos.
James Tavernier in the SPFL 24/25 | |
Appearances | 11 |
Goals | 0 |
Assists | 3 |
Yellow Cards | 2 |
He was strongly linked with an exit over the summer but opted to stay in Scotland, where he still has 18 months to run on his £30,000-a-week deal.
Now though, Football Insider claims that Rangers are “planning to offload James Tavernier at the end of the season” amid “a growing feeling from the Ibrox hierarchy that it is time for both parties to move on”.
It is added that “his declining performances have raised major red flags behind the scenes”, and that a replacement could be signed as soon as January, with a list of targets already being drawn up.
Though given his “continued importance to the team and the dressing room”, a January exit is deemed “unlikely”. Meanwhile, any January addition will depend on finances at Ibrox, with the club having shelled out £14m over the most recent summer transfer window and yet to see a significant return on their investments.
For Tavernier, it would be an ignominious exit after a decade at the club, where he will be remembered as a legend.
