Robbie McCrorie surely set for Rangers transfer exit in January as Michael Beale waxes lyrical over Jack Butland
It’s been a rollercoaster year for Robby McCrorie at Rangers – and things could be made much harder for him after a statement made by Michael Beale on McCrorie’s positional competition.
The Rangers goalkeeper has been a bit-part player at Ibrox ever since his emergence in the first team in August 2021, and since then he’s only gone on to make five league appearances.
The Light Blues reportedly want as much as £1million to sell McCrorie, with his first-team opportunities now increasingly limited at Ibrox following the signing of Jack Butland.
And the young goalkeeper could have sealed his desired exit during the summer transfer window when Jack Butland joined with Mail Plus reported on 11 August, that Premier League giants Manchester United were joined by Hull and Polish champions Rakow Czestochowa in battling for the 25-year-old who is “unsettled” at Rangers and “eager to start afresh away from Ibrox”.
Herald Scotland also reported that Manchester United could have firmed up their interest in McCrorie could the now departed Dean Henderson had joined up with Nottingham Forest, but the Old Trafford outfit ended up going down another route on transfer deadline day.
And it was also understood that Rangers would not have stood in McCrorie’s way regarding a possible exit.
The shot-stopper enjoyed a promising run in Beale’s first team last season when he kept clean sheets in wins against Celtic, Aberdeen and St Mirren during a four-game spell in May [SofaScore].
Since then, the 25-year-old has become an afterthought at Ibrox, especially after the signing of Butland when at one point during the summer, it seemed as if he’d be Allan McGregor’s long-term successor after his retirement.
However, Butland became available after his torrid period at Manchester United, an opportunity Beale simply could not turn down, making him one of his marquee acquisitions in the summer window.
The former Crystal Palace goalkeeper has not looked back since, becoming Beale’s favoured option in goal and it was made evident this past week in the 1-0 win over Real Betis for which the Rangers coach could not hold back on his praise for Butland after some crucial and spectacular to seal an all-important victory.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the game on Thursday evening (21 September), the Gers boss said the 30-year-old has been “fantastic” during his short time at the club as he helped his side pick up a 1-0 win over the La Liga outfit at Ibrox.
“I think we signed a fantastic goalkeeper,” said Beale. “He came here and really wanted to show everybody his true level.
“He’s been frustrated over the last few years not playing as much and I think he’s already shown in his short time at Rangers that he’s a fantastic goalkeeper.”
While it’s perfectly common for Beale to praise his goalkeeper after a terrific individual performance, it certainly doesn’t spell good news for McCrorie.
It is clear, Butland is now swiftly the undisputed Rangers number one which McCrorie certainly knows now but needs to make a frank and brave decision for his career.
He is now at an age where he needs to be playing football to aid his development and ultimately go on to fulfil the burgeoning potential he showed during his four-game spell towards the end of last season.
BBC Sportsound pundit, speaking via Football Scotland (9 September) argued that Rangers will “pay the price” for a lack of “strategic thinking” over their management of McCrorie despite the “real success” of Butland.
He added that the club lacked “foresight” last season after bringing back the “absolute legend” Allan McGregor by playing Jon McLaughlin instead of the former academy product, who has been left to “wither on the vine” at Ibrox.
In McCrorie, Rangers certainly have an able deputy but that does not mean he won’t be seeking an exit route in January. For the betterment of his young career, he needs to be a first-team regular elsewhere because Beale has already made his goalkeeping stance very clear.
In other Rangers news, official club partners were blown away by the performance of one Beale favourite against Betis on Thursday.