Rangers were offered Aaron Mooy transfer before he signed for Celtic
Rangers were offered the chance to sign Celtic midfielder Aaron Mooy before he made his switch to play under Ange Postecoglou last summer, according to Keith Jackson.
Writing in his weekly column for the Daily Record (Monday, 6 March), Jackson rued the opportunity that the Gers had to sign the 32-year-old midfielder who dominated them in the recent 2-1 Viaplay Cup final defeat at Hampden Park and played a hand in both goals on the day.
Rangers deemed that the ex-Brighton player didn’t fit the club’s “player profile”, and the club have since gone on to sign the likes of Malik Tillman and Nicolas Raskin in the middle of the park.
Jackson wrote: “It’s also worth noting here, since Beale made the comparison with Celtic’s superior spending power, that Aaron Mooy was offered to Rangers as a free agent before the Aussie ended up signing on the other side of the city.
“That potential deal was dismissed out of hand on the basis that Mooy did not fit the club’s “player profile”. All of which begs one rather obvious question, especially after Mooy dominated Beale’s midfield in the first showpiece game of the season, helping to create both of Celtic’s goals.
“What sort of ‘player profile’ is it that Rangers are relying upon? Because if a player who doesn’t fit it can dominate three or four others who do, then it stands to reason that someone somewhere is getting it horribly wrong.”
Shocker
The turning down of Mooy’s transfer has already come back to bite Ross Wilson after his midfield masterclass in the cup final defeat. The Australian ran the show all game long and looked a cut above Michael Beale’s first-choice paring Glen Kamara and John Lundstram.
The news that the Gers were offered the chance to sign Mooy may lead to yet more anger towards the board. The club’s transfer business over the last few years has been an unprecedented disaster, and this is yet another one that Wilson will be having nightmares about.
At the end of the day, Rangers probably turned down the 32-year-old’s transfer due to his age, but Celtic have shown that experienced players such as this can play a huge hand in helping to win trophies at the highest level.
The particularly worrying part of this news is that the board turned down the move due to the “player profile” being incorrect. Over the last five years, there doesn’t seem to have been much of a strategy that fans could recall, and Mooy is yet another reminder of the rudderless leadership at the top of the club.
In other Rangers news, Michael Beale has dropped his biggest hint yet that one player could join Rangers in the summer.