Philippe Clement will be given a budget to spend in the summer but how much could depend on how many Rangers players he manages to move on too.
With six players out of contract, the manager could see his squad lose more than 10 senior players if those who aren’t contributing are also moved on.
There is another group of players who will be considered too, those like Jack Butland and James Tavernier, who Philippe Clement will want to keep at Rangers but might not be able to afford to if the latest speculation about the skipper in particular is true.
Is James Tavernier edging closer to Rangers exit?
Last summer saw Tavernier linked with a move to Steven Gerrard’s Al Etiffaq, nothing came to fruition, however, it is a rumour that has never really gone away.
The Daily Record is now claiming that reports in Saudi Arabia are suggesting Gerrad’s bosses have rubber stamped his shopping list with the Gers skipper near the top of the list.
Despite nothing concrete emerging yet and The Record’s link not leading anywhere, this does align with the information Rangers News were exclusively told by former Sky Sports journalist Graeme Bailey just a few weeks ago when asked about possible Rangers transfer activity:
“I think Clement wants to do a bit of work, in the summer.
“From what I’m hearing he’s quite happy with the progress in the squad, even if its fair to say they are currently overachieving.
“By the same token Celtic are underachieving, and that’s what Rangers needed to challenge this season.
“It’s fair to say all areas of the team are under consideration. You wouldn’t call this a classic Rangers team by any stretch and there will be work done in the summer.
“Even in comparison to Gerrard’s team it’s a patchwork squad, and even if the Gers win the league I am led to believe there’s going to be quite a bit done at Ibrox.”
“Like I say, the squad will be going through something of a mini-revolution.
“We could see some of the older names disappear.
“James Tavernier is a real target for the Saudi Pro League. He’s huge for the club, and he’s not desperate to move by any means, but if Rangers get a good offer they will have to consider it. They are 100% looking at the Rangers captain.”
Now would be the perfect time to cash in
Tavernier has had an incredible season at Ibrox in terms of personal numbers.
With 24 goals and 10 assists, his importance doesn’t seem to be dropping any time soon, but this would be the perfect summer to cash-in.
Dujon Sterling has shown how good a player he is and he hasn’t even had a chance in his strongest position yet.
As we saw against Hearts, he is more than capable of contributing in the final third and has one of the strongest defensive games in the squad – have you seen a player get past him yet?
Tavernier will be 33-years old in the early stages of next season, Saudi Arabia is the only league where Rangers would probably be able to get the sort of fee that would make it worth our while to sell such an important player.
With a ready made replacement in Sterling, a more than acceptable back-up in Adam Devine, it makes a lot of sense to sell Tavernier.
If selling him means that extra funds could be given to Philippe Clement then even better.
