Barry Ferguson believes ‘truth’ in James Tavernier exit stories at Rangers as fresh news emerges
Barry Ferguson believes James Tavernier will hold talks with Rangers about a “life-changing” transfer to Saudi Arabia this summer.
Reports from the Middle East (17 April) claim that ex-Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard wants to sign the skipper and has convinced his current bosses to authorise a deal, surely leaving Philippe Clement furious that he could lose his main man.
But while speaking on GoRadio (24 April), another former skipper in Ferguson believes Tavernier will be considering the move due to the sums of money likely to be on offer and expects him to hold talks this summer to discuss the possibility.
“The rumours that started last summer have not gone away,” he said. “They came again in the January window and have now resurfaced in the last couple of days, so there must be some truth in it.
“I think it will come down to what James Tavernier wants to do. He still has another two years left on his contract. But we all know what kind of money is in Saudi Arabia. It could be life-changing. So it will be interesting to see what happens come the end of the season.
“If you felt you could still make a contribution to the team, you would stay at Rangers because you want to try and win trophies and play in front of 50,000 fans. But there comes a stage where even though your head can still do it, your legs just start to give up.
“I don’t think James Tavernier is at that stage because there is still a lot of football in him, but it might not come around again. I’m sure he’ll sit down and discuss it with his advisors and see what happens going forward.”
Will James Tavernier leave Rangers this summer?
It would represent a huge changing of the guard at Ibrox and would be a massive decision, but would it be the right thing to see Tavernier leave?
Heart and Hand recently admitted they feel the time is right, while the 31-year-old only has two years remaining on his contract and this could be the last chance the club have to really cash in.
But losing someone as influential as Tavernier would be something that isn’t easy to replace, and Clement would have a huge task to replace him in the summer.
The club already clearly have plans for the summer, and Clement will know what he wants to do with incoming and which positions to target but with extra cash it could be the perfect way for the boss to stamp himself on the squad.
There’s no guarantee that he will leave, but if he did go it wouldn’t be the end of the world for the club so it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.
In other Rangers news, one Ibrox hero believes he could make a current star “a lot better” if they played together.
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