His former manager thinks one of the country’s rising stars would fit in pretty nicely at Rangers.
The Glasgow giants themselves appear to agree, by the way.
HITC Football reported back in January that Rangers were casting their sights over the Scottish Premiership starlet, before he signed a pre-contract agreement with a top-flight rival.
Though the man who gave James Penrice his break at Livingston feels that the talented left-back can afford to aim a littler higher than Tynecastle, with at least one half of the Old Firm already having shown an interest.
“He was a huge loss for us last season,” David Martindale tells Hearts Standard, his Livi side suffering relegation after losing Penrice for the final three months of 2023/24.
“He got an injury and we never really quite got him back on the park. See, when we lose a player of that quality at a smaller club, we’ve got good players but we don’t have the squad depth. He had made left-back his own.”
Rangers have already looked at Hearts’ James Penrice
The late-blooming 25-year-old ended the campaign with a respectable five assists to his name. Martindale, however, beleives that Penrice has come on leaps and bounds at both ends of the pitch, making him one of the most complete, well-rounded players in the Scottish game.
“He’s worked really, really hard at the defensive side of his game,” adds Martindale, feeling that Heart of Midlothian have pulled off quite the coup landing Penrice on a three-year deal.
“For me, I genuinely think Hearts have ‘won a watch’ with him. This is me being really, really honest and people will maybe laugh at this. But I can see James playing for Rangers. I can see James playing for Celtic.
“That’s how highly I rate him. He can look after the ball. Hearts are a top-three club so he wouldn’t look out of place playing for anyone in the top three in my opinion.”
The West Lothian-born wideman started his career in Glasgow with Partick Thistle. A return to Scotland’s second city will have to wait for the time being, however.
But with Rangers already among his admirers, it does not seem out of the realms of possibility that Hearts could make a quick profit should Penrice maintain his current rate of progress in Edinburgh.
Jefte joins Ridvan Yilmaz as Ibrox left-backs
“We’re delighted to get James signed up,” Hearts boss and former Rangers forward Steven Naismith said after Penrice was finally unveiled in maroon on Tuesday.
“He’s someone who knows the domestic game well and has had to work really hard to get to where he is today. James has bags of talent, he’s got a great engine and he’s going to provide us with options.
“He’ll be an asset for us and he’s at a great age where there’s even more to come. We can develop him further and help him to reach new levels.”
Rangers’ left-back options look settled for now.
Despite Borna Barisic’s exit, Philippe Clement will have Ridvan Yilmaz and new recruit Jefte Vital fighting for the starting berth in 2024/25. The versatile Dujon Sterling also impressed last term when shifting across to the opposite flank.
Rangers’ focus, for the time being, is on a forward. Petar Ratkov, Hamza Igamame and Albion Rrahmani are those under consideration.
