James McFarlane McArthur, the Scottish midfielder who recently turned 30, is on the last year of his contract at Selhurst Park. McArthur, who joined Crystal Palace in the summer of 2014, is a boyhood Rangers fan. He began his career by playing in the Ranger South BC before joining Hamilton Academical in 2005.
He played for the Scottish side for five years before moving to England in 2010. He signed for Wigan and went on to play for them 129 times scoring 11 times in the process.
McArthur moved to Crystal Palace for £7m on September 1st, 2014. He has since gone on to make 101 appearances for them scoring 11 goals. A deep-lying midfielder, he has a knack of scoring important goals for his team.
Palace’s woeful form this season has stalled McArthur’s contract talks. With his contract set to expire at the end of the current season and with Palace looking shaky, it does not come as a surprise that McArthur is the latest player, favourites to sign for Rangers next, at least according to Football Whispers.
Rangers pulled off a coup this summer, by bringing in Norwich City midfielder Graham Dorrans. Dorrans is a long-term Rangers fan and his move to join Pedro Caixinha’s revolution at Ibrox was a move both popular and beneficial to the club.
They will be hoping to do the same and make a repeat of the Dorrans move for McArthur. Bringing in the boyhood Rangers fan on a free transfer will add some much-needed depth and strength to the Rangers squad.
The Scottish outfit have already fallen behind Celtic this season and their recent defeat by two goals to the Hoops showed the difference in class between the two teams. Although Pedro Caixinha’s men have done well so far and the rebuilding phase is still in process, Caixinha will definitely need more signings to cope up in the Scottish League.
If Rangers are serious about their title challenge, over the next few seasons if not this one, they will need to bring in more experienced players. However, they do not have the financial pull to bring in star players.
Their shopping list must comprise of bargain buys if they are to overhaul their existing squad. Bringing in players like Graham Dorrans and possibly getting their hands on James McArthur, both of whom are long-term Rangers fans and have the experience of playing in England will add an exciting new dynamic to the Rangers side.
