Keith Jackson shares Rangers condition to move on exit-linked Ibrox duo
Keith Jackson believes Rangers will have to “pay up” in the winter transfer window if they want to get rid of Rabbi Matondo and Kieran Dowell.
The duo have warmed the bench or have been sidelined due to injury for most of the season with both struggling to contribute consistently to the Gers’ cause.
Recently, both players have been linked with Ibrox exits as multiple Championship sides are in for Matondo, while Dowell has also had interest shown in him from England.
Speaking on the Daily Record’s Hotline Live (22 January), Jackson shared his thoughts on the situation Philippe Clement finds himself in with the out-of-favour pair.
“If they’re going to get rid of a Kieran Dowell or a Rabbi Matondo in January, they’re going to have to do what they did in the summer which was pay them up to go,” Jackson said.
“That’s why you only end up banking £600,000 or something from the sale of four or five players in the summer window.”
Later in the podcast, the topic was revisited and Jackson added: “From a Rangers perspective, what you don’t want to do is pay up the full contract [for Dowell] but you might say look, we’ll pay up half of your contract.
“These are really difficult negotiations that Rangers are facing but they’ve got themselves into this situation and now they need to try and find a way out of it.
“I think that’s going to mean a bit of pain, again over this transfer window, let’s see where they are in the summer but it’s far from an ideal set of circumstances.”
Rangers need to get rid of Rabbi Matondo and Kieran Dowell
At the moment, Rangers are somewhat stuck with what they can and can’t do in the winter transfer window.
While they’ve already welcomed a new defender through the Ibrox doors, it’s evident that more than one player needs to be brought in so that Clement and his men can get their season back on track.
Both Matondo and Dowell are likely to be on massive wages and while they wouldn’t earn all that much money from the sales of the pair, the amount of strain on their wage bills would be docked massively.
The Gers are also fairly stacked in both midfield and attack so if they can afford to leave them out of the starting XI each week, it makes sense for the Ibrox outfit to try and find potential suitors for them.
The only way any more players are going to be added to Clement’s ranks is if one or both of them leaves Glasgow.
Whether or not that’s a possibility remains to be seen but right now, it feels like the best option for all the involved parties.
In other Rangers news, Ally McCoist has shared a “really poor” admission ahead of the Gers’ Europa League tie against Manchester United.
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