Rangers to finalise paperwork for James Penrice transfer after medical update

Rangers are on the verge of signing James Penrice from AEK Athens.

The 27-year-old has been linked with a move to Rangers for a number of months.

He left Scottish football last summer to join Greek side AEK Athens from Hearts.

As such, now-Rangers boss Derek McInnes didn't get the chance to work with him at Tynecastle, but is set to do so at Ibrox.

Rangers have already bolstered down the right side of their defence with the signing of Ross McCrorie this summer.

And now, Gers may even have a new left-back ready to make his Bears debut this weekend.

What has been said about James Penrice's Rangers medical?

According to a report from Sky Sports on Saturday morning, Penrice has now completed his Rangers medical.

The defender was understood to have been conducting it on Thursday, and now that side of the transfer has been wrapped up.

It's claimed that Rangers are now putting the finishing touches on the necessary paperwork ahead of Sunday's League Cup tie with St Mirren.

If completed in time, then Penrice could be set to make his debut at Ibrox this weekend.

Sky Sports have claimed that Penrice's move to Govan is on an initial season-long loan deal with the option to buy.

But if McInnes wants to play with wing-backs at Rangers, does Penrice have the profile to fit in that system?

Why Penrice has the tools to be a Rangers success

Now in the prime of his career, Penrice is set to return to Scottish football to aid a much-needed Rangers turnaround in form.

So far during his tenureship, McInnes has switched between setting his team up in back fours and threes.

However, Gers' last two games against Hibernian and Jagiellonia both saw the Bears deployed in a back three with wing-backs.

Penrice is a left-back by trade, and has pretty much exclusively played in that role during his time in Greece.

He did the same in his lone 2024-25 campaign with Hearts, so that would suggest he may need some time to adapt to a potential wing-back role.

But, Penrice did score two goals and provide seven assists for Hearts that year, showing his ability to make an impact in the final third.

As per FotMob, he ranked in the top 6.2 and 7.8 percentiles of all Greek Super League left-backs for successful crosses (1.51) and chances created (1.32) per game in 2025-26.

So, whilst he may not have played much football as a wing-back, Penrice shouldn't have any issues doing so if asked at Ibrox.