Barry Ferguson tips Rangers to ‘raise a few eyebrows’ with more player departures
Barry Ferguson has revealed he wouldn’t be surprised to see Rangers “raise a few eyebrows” by sanctioning another shock player departure this summer.
Gers boss Michael Beale is currently overhauling his squad ahead of the new campaign, as Antonio Colak signed for Parma on 15 July and Scott Wright is on the verge of sealing a move to Pendikspor.
Speaking on Go Radio, former Gers captain Ferguson said he wouldn’t be surprised to see another player leave Ibrox as the club look to balance the books after already sealing seven new signings during the transfer window.
“They need to balance the books a wee bit, that is natural as they have brought in a number of players. Scott Wright we are waiting for that to be confirmed, I think Glen Kamara,” he added.
“Don’t be surprised if there’s another one that might raise a few eyebrows. Just somebody you might not expect as you have guys coming into the final year of their contracts, Borna Barisic, John Lundstram. You can’t allow them to run down the contracts. If Rangers, Michael Beale doesn’t want them to be there, if they are not willing to commit, Rangers need to cash in.
“You need to speak to them and I am sure those conversations have happened between Michael Beale and the players. I said about Colak, I liked his attitude and he scored goals but it was clear in my eyes he wasn’t Michael Beale’s type of player. It wasn’t a surprise to me. But I think you will see another one or two players going out the door you maybe wouldn’t have thought would.”
No surprise
It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see more players leave the club this summer as Beale does attempt to balance the books after he has been allowed to bring in a number of new players.
There looks likely to be a couple more signings on the way soon in the form of Danilo from Feyenoord and Los Angeles FC’s Jose Cifuentes, so that could potentially push a couple of current first-team players out of the door.
It would be a shame to see the likes of Barisic or Lundstram go, though, as they are two players that have featured heavily since arriving at Ibrox and have always given their all for the club.
But Ferguson is right that the books will need to be balanced once Beale gets a couple more players in to strengthen his squad and it is likely those talks already have taken place.
It’s also a good point to note that the aforementioned duo are heading into the final year of the contracts, so decisions around their future need to be made soon rather than later to avoid letting them leave on a free.
In other Rangers news, the Gers have been linked with a move for a Gambian defender.