News concerning Rangers FC has been heavily centred around the departure of club captain, James Tavernier after the 26-year-old started to get linked with a host of Premier League outfits. Now it is being said that Steven Gerrard has communicated his intentions to keep the player along with teammate, Josh Windass.
Tavernier earlier signed a new contract, extending his services till the summer of 2021 and the former Newcastle United youngster is a massive part of the side’s immediate future. Interests from English outfits were previously ruled out by the player himself when he was quoted saying,“I’m fully committed to Rangers. I’m still learning here and I’m still growing here. I’m still under contract for another 18 months so I’m really happy here. I came here to win trophies.”
“Also, in all the Old Firm games I’ve played, I’ve only been on the winning side once so far (in the 2016 Scottish Cup semi-final). I want to win some more of them. I still have unfinished business as a Rangers player. It’s totally down to the club if they want to extend my contract. I’ll have to wait and see.”
With the transfer window now open and interest in Tavernier being shown from multiple clubs, it now remains to be seen if he stays true to his words. Money and opportunity to play in a more competitive league can be a huge incentive for any player to move and Tavernier will have a decision to make unless Gerrard shuts down the possibility of any move in the first place.
Gerrard has been tasked with overcoming the Celtic dominance in the Scottish top-flight and ideally, that would mean for him to match their talent pool, not lose an established defensive head and then run around the entire summer looking for a replacement with nominal financial backing.
The Light Blues have already seen the Bradford-born defender take the pitch 46 times this past season and score on 9 occasions. Tavernier contributed a further 9 assists while making those impactful overlapping runs.
The £200,000 purchase has surpassed the expected return on investment as he delivered the Scottish Championship title and the Petrofac Training Cup on his arrival from Wigan Athletic. He is the heartbeat of the Gers backline and is almost irreplaceable with Lee Hodson as the backup.
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Gerrard would be wise to fend off any incoming offers for his captain.
