Robin Propper to be shipped out of Rangers as wages to go towards replacement loan signing
Rangers would have been better off keeping hold of Connor Goldson than replacing him with Robin Propper and should move the Dutchman on again, says Derek Ferguson.
The defender arrived at Ibrox in the summer for £1.5million from FC Twente [The Herald, 2 August] after Englishman Goldson departed to Aris Limassol.
While Ferguson accepts the former vice-captain was past his best at Ibrox he still believes the 31-year-old would be more of an asset to Philippe Clement this term than the man brought in to fill the gap, who he has tipped to head to the exit already after struggling mightily so far.
Sam Lammers was a similarly underwhelming Dutch signing last season that was shipped out on loan to the Eredivisie in January before completing a permanent move to Twente in the summer, and the same scenario is already being speculated on for Propper ahead of the winter window [David Edgar, 27 October].
He scored an own-goal on debut against Motherwell on 10 August and has been an uncertain presence ever since, and with the manager increasingly leaving him out of important domestic fixtures it appears the Belgian is starting to lose faith in his own signing already.
Having already lost his place alongside John Souttar to 36-year-old Leon Balogun, the centre-back notably looked unhappy to remain on the bench in the League Cup semi against Stuart Kettlewell’s men on 3 November when Neraysho Kasanwirjo was preferred as an injury substitute.
Ferguson has backed the Feyenoord loanee to take his place more regularly, and believes a quick departure for Propper makes most sense all round so his wages can be used towards bringing someone else in.
Rangers better off keeping Connor Goldson at Ibrox?
“Well he didnae look to happy sitting on the bench [vs Motherwell],” he exclusively told Ibrox News.
“Big questions were asked because that was such an important game at Aberdeen and the manager doesnae play him, and it’s the manager that’s brought him in.
“And we were hearing he’s an experienced boy, we were told he’s a physical player, a real leader. I don’t see it.
“Clearly Scottish football, the hurly burly, the physicality doesnae suit him.
“Europe he’s played in a few games but again the recruitment. We’re bringing in a guy that’s supposed to make the difference.
“We let Goldson go whose legs have gone. I think it would have been better keeping Goldson.
“You don’t want to sit and just absolutely criticise boys just for the sake of it, but the manager should know the type of centre-back you need to bring to the club to get success in the Scottish Premiership.”
On the subject of a quick exit being lined up for January the ex-Ibrox midfielder added: “Yeah, aye, and then again what you’ve got is some wages to maybe bring in somebody else on loan towards the end of the season.
“I just think a guy of that experience, at the age that he is, he needs to be playing. He thought he was coming to Rangers to be playing week in, week out.
“Maybe it’s been a surprise to him. Maybe he’s been surprised by the physicality and maybe the pace of the Scottish game.
“Maybe there’s been a conversation they’ve had, ‘It’s not working out, let’s cut our losses’. So he goes and plays, frees up a wage, and we’ll be able to bring somebody else in.”
In other Rangers news, both Gers and Celtic fans have been blasted over a “waste of time” coming down the line.
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