Rangers transfer news as Netherlands ace Tijjani Reijnders told to snub Ibrox move
Former Rangers defender Bert Konterman advised Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders not to move to Ibrox last summer.
As per NOS, Konterman told the 25-year-old’s father Martin to encourage his son to stay at AZ Alkmaar as he wasn’t ready for a move to Scotland.
Reijnders ended up staying at the Dutch club for another season before securing a move to Serie A giants AC Milan this summer.
“Rangers, my old club wanted him,” Konterman told NOS. “Martin asked me what was sensible. I thought it was more sensible to stay at AZ. Rangers is a big club, but he wasn’t ready at AZ yet and maybe even bigger clubs would come in a year.
“Moreover, I thought that he would fit better in Spanish or Italian football. Fortunately, that came true. It’s good that he didn’t go. His patience has definitely been rewarded. He had a fantastic year at AZ and now plays at AC Milan.”
Right decision
It seems that Reijnders made the right decision to remain at AZ Alkmaar, with the midfielder impressing in the Netherlands, so much so that he earned himself a move to AC Milan.
The 25-year-old is now highly-regarded in Milan, having played every minute of his club’s three matches so far, chipping in with one assist.
Now the midfielder has been handed international recognition, making his debut from the substitute bench in his country’s 3-0 win against Greece on Thursday (7 September).
As for the Ibrox club, they have recently brought in midfielders such as Nico Raskin, Todd Cantwell, Kieran Dowell and Jose Cifuentes.
Not all have hit the ground running at their new club, unlike Reijnders in Italy, who made a smart decision to avoid an Ibrox move.
He would have definitely improved the midfield at Ibrox, with current boss Michael Beale perhaps wishing Konterman had kept quiet about his former club.
In other Rangers news, Alan Brazil has name-dropped the Gers in a “ridiculous” verdict live on talkSPORT.