Ally McCoist drops Ryan Porteous and Rangers transfer admission live BT Sport
Ally McCoist believes Ryan Porteous should not move to Rangers in the January transfer window and instead leave Scottish football to develop his burgeoning career.
The Hibernian defender was recently linked with a move to Ibrox by Clyde manager Jim Duffy (Clyde Superscoreboard, 5 December), with his contract due to expire at Easter Road next summer.
The 23-year-old was on the scoresheet against Michael Beale’s side in the Gers’ 3-2 victory on Thursday (15 December) and impressed while starting in the midfield.
Despite stating that the transfer for Rangers “would not be a gamble”, McCoist believes the player is best to move away from the Scottish Premiership.
Speaking live alongside Chris Sutton on BT Sport’s show, Scottish Football Extra, he said: “I think the best thing for the lad would be to get away.
“If he’s got a chance of a move to Italy, go and take it. The best move for the lad is to get away up the road and further his career, give himself the best opportunity to play in another country.”
Time to move on
Although Rangers have recently been linked with a move for Porteous, his potential relationship with the fans might well have been a serious roadblock if he did make a move, after several fractious moments in recent matches.
The defender played brilliantly against Beale’s side on Thursday night, dictating the early proceedings from his unfamiliar defensive midfield position, and capped off a fine performance by nodding home a corner early on.
After spending over five years at Easter Road, it is clearly Porteous’ time to move on to bigger and better things, and a move to a different league could well improve his game.
A move to the Championship or Italy seems the most likely option and should help progress his career to the next level after being in relatively comfy surroundings for the majority of his career.
In the meantime, Connor Goldson, Ben Davies and John Souttar are all set to return at some point next year for the Gers, so Beale’s defensive stocks will only improve from here on out.
In other Rangers news, an out-of-court agreement could be reached for the Gers as documents have been submitted.