You’ll forgive fans for putting most of their summer transfer focus into the players who might be joining Rangers.
There are few more exciting moments in football than the summer transfer window, as a new season brings fresh hope, optimism and opportunity.
There are plenty of red-hot Ibrox irons in the fire with more twists and turns to come as the season enters it preparatory stage.
But whilst the focus for fans might be on who is coming into Rangers, there is still plenty of speculation surrounding who will be going out the door.
With five experienced campaigners already quitting at the end of their contracts, three players who’ve been extensively linked with a ticket out of Glasgow have just shown up at pre-season training.
Rangers captain reports for training duties
The story of James Tavernier at Rangers in one of both triumph through adversity and unexpected, if not predictable, disaster.
Made the Rangers skipper back in 2018 under Steven Gerrard, the marauding right-back’s contribution to the club is legendary and he will go down in Ibrox history.
But never has the future of James Tavernier been more thrust under the microscope than it has this summer.
With Rangers toiling in the face of Celtic’s domestic dominance, Tavernier’s lacklustre showings against Daizen Maeda in the Old Firm derbies has shone a huge spotlight on him.
That disastrous opening stages gift in the 3-3 Ibrox draw – a truly pivotal moment in last season’s title race – only shot the nerves of the Ibrox skipper for the remaining derby clashes.
There is no doubt about James Tavernier’s contribution to Rangers but after overseeing yet another title collapse last season fans want change in the club’s leadership.
Links to Saudi Arabia persist – one fan media outlet even claimed Tavernier has agreed terms in the the Middle East – but the right-back was snapped back on captaincy duties as pre-season training began.
Now 32-years-old, plenty have written James Tavernier off at Rangers in the past only for the skipper to come roaring back.
There was certainly no signs of an imminent exit as the Rangers captain was photographed by the club’s official media at the training ground.
I guess we’ll find out if he’ll get the chance to crucify his doubters when the window closes in around nine weeks’ time.
Yilmaz put through Ibrox paces
Ridvan Yilmaz plays on the opposite of the park from James Tavernier and in many respects, his contribution is on the other end of the Ibrox scale.
Whilst the Gers captain is a near ever-present on the right-hand side at Ibrox, every time Ridvan Yilmaz has gotten started he’s suffered a set-back.
Initially struggling to settle after joining Rangers from Besiktas in 2022, Yilmaz is entering season three of his Ibrox career and is potentially already at a crossroads.
The Gers cannot afford to let the £5m signing leave for nothing but thankfully hold all the aces with the left-back contracted to Ibrox until 2027.
There have been routine links to Turkey – Yilmaz reportedly the subject of a bid from Galatasaray in January – and it’s been the same again this summer.
A return to former club Besiktas, and former manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst, has been mooted in the Istanbul press.
But for the time being Yilmaz is another who was snapped being put through his paces on the first day of school and it’s in keeping with a claim from his agent that he’s in no rush to return to Turkey.
There is absolutely no doubt that Ridvan Yilmaz has something.
The left-back is an energetic presence on the wing, has solid close control & dribbling skills, is a progressive passer/crosser, and is more aggressive in defence than his diminutive style suggests.
If Ridvan is going to stay, he needs to make left-back his own and shake off the consistent injury problems which have disrupted his time in Glasgow.
This is as big a pre-season for the Young Turk as it is for anybody at Ibrox.
Huge season for Rangers enigma
Todd Cantwell is amongst the most enigmatic players we’ve seen at Rangers in the modern era.
On his day the 26-year-old former England youth international is a tremendous footballer; a graceful dribbler and emphatic finisher who can turn games in an instant.
But at his worst, Cantwell is a solemn figure on the pitch, routinely frustrated and lacking the necessary leadership skills that a player of his obvious superior talent needs to achieve consistency.
Philippe Clement has had plenty of run-ins with the ex-Norwich City star, who at one stage of his career looked destined for the bright lights of Bayern Munich.
That Cantwell is now struggling at Rangers is emblematic of a career in decline with the playmaker struggling to rub out the over-indulgent arrogance which has limited his progress.
We’d say Rangers is the perfect stage for Cantwell to realise his potential and get his career back on track.
We’re a massive club with a huge fanbase who are fighting for trophies with the potential for Champions League football.
And yet we get the feeling sometimes that Todd feels he’s above it all.
We exclusively revealed that the attacking midfielder is exploring options away from Ibrox and it’s a suggestion which has since been repeated elsewhere.
Spotted being put through his paces in a training video, for the time being the ex-Norwich star remains in Glasgow.
With Cantwell reporting back at Rangers training perhaps Clement can redirect the attacking midfielder’s focus and helped him realise his potential.
Otherwise in five years’ time this clearly talented player may well be reflecting on a huge opportunity missed in Glasgow.
There’s always a middling English Championship side on high wages but if he’s set to chuck it at Ibrox, but Todd will have to roll his sleeves up down there too.
