Rangers in multiple sets of contract talks as 2nd deal to be announced after Dujon Sterling
Rangers are currently in contract talks with several players and are set to announce an extension for John Souttar in the near future, the Daily Record reports.
The outlet reported on their website on 1 October the Scotland international is next in line to sign after the club announced Dujon Sterling’s new deal earlier the same day.
Former Chelsea defender Sterling has been rewarded for a strong debut season at Ibrox with improved terms and a further year on his deal, which will now expire in 2028.
Rangers have lost numerous players on free transfers in recent seasons and are now looking to address the issue.
Rangers set to announce John Souttar contract extension at Ibrox
Many of the senior players who have departed at the end of their contracts over the past couple of years had reached the end of the line at Ibrox anyway but Philippe Clement has regularly highlighted the disadvantage it has caused not to secure fees for them on the way out.
The likes of Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos are probably the most glaring examples of players who could have been sold earlier for decent prices rather than let their form fall away and depart for nothing.
So it looks like Clement is driving more change behind the scenes in Glasgow having been backed for the long-term despite rough results, as interim chairman John Gilligan has confirmed [Sky Sports Scotland, 24 September].
As long as the right decisions are made on who to extend and how much to offer them that should be an improvement.
But considering how difficult it proved for Clement to offload players this summer in order to make room for new signings it won’t benefit anyone if unwanted players are left kicking around that the Gers can’t rid of.
And when a series of players were eventually offloaded before the deadline it was hardly for a huge bounty as the likes of Todd Cantwell [4th Official, 31 August] and Scott Wright both went for less than £1million [Sky Sports, 29 August].
Rabbi Matondo is one who is said to be on a very hefty contract, while the inability to sell Ianis Hagi this summer was attributed to paying the Romanian too much [Hugh MacDonald, 5 September], although the stand-off has now been brought to a close and the 25-year-old is back in first-team training [Rangers Review, 1 October].
Sterling earned a new deal last season but will need to improve this term after struggling for games and form since the summer.
Souttar has established himself as the top centre-back now that Connor Goldson has gone, despite the arrival of FC Twente captain Robin Propper who has struggled to establish himself so far.
Squad management at Ibrox has been fairly abysmal in recent years as the regular turnover of managers and key executive roles has provided no continuity, so on paper it makes obvious sense to tie up key assets longer-term, just as long as they remain key assets on the pitch during that time.
In other Rangers news, “influential” players in the Ibrox dressing room played a role in a “shock u-turn”.
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