James Murray

Sun 22 October 2023 19:10, UK

Philippe Clement is going to have to make a decision on Rangers captain James Tavernier moving forward, according to Gary Keown.

Writing on page 93 of the Scottish Mail on Sunday on 22 October, the journalist said the new Gers boss is going to have to make some “huge decisions” on squad rebuilding and that he needs to weigh up whether the 31-year-old is “burnt-out” from having “too much asked of him over the years”.

He added that the Belgian has to “get more” from Danilo or sign another forward, as he believes Kemar Roofe is “old news” at Ibrox.

Tough

There are going to be a number of tough decisions that Clement is going to have to make at Rangers over the next few months as he oversees yet another rebuild at Ibrox.

While Tavernier may be questionable defensively at times, he currently still offers far too much going forward – scoring six goals already this season – to even consider reducing his minutes or letting him go altogether, with a reliable deputy nowhere to be seen [Transfermarkt].

There has been an awful lot asked of him in recent years, though, and he could be likely to slow down soon, so looking to bring in a younger option that can look to take over from him further down the line could be a smart move.

While Roofe could potentially still have something to offer, the main issue is hit fitness, meaning he can’t really be relied upon moving forward.

Clement will be closely analysing his squad over the next few weeks to see what he needs in the short – as well as the long-term – to build a successful side that can compete for trophies on a consistent basis.

In other Rangers news, a highly-rated transfer guru has turned the club down following an approach.