Rangers‘ return to the top tier of Scottish football did no harm to famous rivals Celtic who conquered a ‘double treble’ in last two seasons and maintained their sheer dominance over their league counterparts under Brendan Rodgers. The Light Blues have been humiliated time and again whenever these two age-old rivals locked horns recently in Old Firm derbies and the Gers are yet to grab a runners-up place since their Scottish Premiership resurgence in 2016.
Steven Gerrard, the iconic Liverpool and England midfielder, meanwhile, has been handed over the managerial responsibility at Ibrox to restore the lost pride and re-establish their supremacy, defeating the Hoops managed by Rodgers, the Northern Irishman who coached Gerrard during his final years in Merseyside.
It is yet to be seen whether the legendary midfield general succeeds in senior management, but the former Liverpool U18 gaffer must attract exciting prospects banking on his enormous reputation as one of England’s all-time great. The Gers have already recruited Scott Arfield and Allan McGregor on Bosman deals whereas the loan move of Jamie Murphy was made permanent when Brighton & Hove Albion, his former employers, accepted a fee in the region of £1 million for the 28-year-old winger.
They are certainly not done yet and several more incomings are expected this summer. Dylan McGeouch, the Hibernian midfielder, is reportedly being monitored by the Glasgow giants whose contract at Easter Road ran out last month.
The 25-year-old midfield attacker has earned his maiden senior cap for Scotland a few days back versus Peru after representing his nation in several youth ranks and might return to his former club now where he spent a few years in the youth ranks before returning to Celtic under the current Hibs boss Neil Lennon. But lack of senior minutes at Parkhead saw him joining Hibernian who were competing to earn a Premiership promotion and finally returned to the top tier last years after several failed attempts.
McGeouch grabbed a regular role in Hibernian midfield and guided them to a fourth-placed league finish, therefore, earning a place in the Europa League qualifiers. The 2016 Scottish Cup winner played an instrumental role for Hibs and his composure in the middle of the park will enhance depth as well as quality in Rangers midfield.
The Gers already have the likes of Graham Dorrans, Jason Holt, Ryan Jack, Jordan Rossiter, Andy Halliday and Greg Docherty to occupy the central roles, but the versatility of McGeouch will add more creativity to their game due to his ability to operate box-to-box and down the flanks as well.
Gerrard will weigh up the available options during the pre-season before deriving the future of a few of his resources, but the squad indeed needs to be freshened up and the addition of McGeouch will be another shrewd transfer business by the Liverpool legend en route to restore the Gers’ elite status.
