Rangers’ summer of rebuilding continues and time is ticking down towards their first Scottish Premiership fixture of the season. It’s been a stop-start pre-season with competitive action in June before the long six week wait for the Motherwell match in August.
Pedro Caixinha still has a lot to prove to supporters but there are signs things are heading in the right direction, most notably in the recent friendly draw with Marseille at Ibrox.
While the majority of transfer action at the club has seen players arrive in Glasgow, there’s been fairly little movement out of the club with just Matt Crooks, Joe Garner and Barrie McKay leaving the club on a regular basis.
Caixinha is on record saying he is looking for two more signings before the window shuts but we reckon there is scope for more if he can move out some more first-team stars who earn a good wage at the club.
We’ve picked out THREE who have market value but who offered little in a Rangers shirt last term…
Martyn Waghorn
According to Transfermarket, Waghorn is worth around £640,000 which could a long way to signing a winger of real quality that can enhance the Rangers attacker.
The club are reportedly £500,000 short in their valuation of Jamie Walker so any potential sale of the Englishman could free up the resources required to land one of Pedro Caixinha’s prime summer targets.
Despite scoring 15 goals last season, Waghorn has often under-performed for the Light Blues, especially in big matches against the likes of Celtic and Aberdeen. With the arrival of Eduardo Herrera and Alfredo Morelos there’s little scope for him getting a regular game through the middle of the attack and out wide there are better options to consider.
In the Championship, Waghorn threatened to be the consistent goalscorer Rangers would need to challenge Celtic but last season showed he is simply not up to the task.
Wes Foderingham
Wes Foderingham is a wanted man with The Scottish Sun reporting recently that former manager Mark Warburton was keen on taking him to Nottingham Forest this summer. That means Rangers could likely get a decent deal for a player who has as many negatives as positives to his game.
Noted for his good shot-stopping ability, there are serious question marks about his distribution and ability to deal with basic goalkeeping tasks like crosses and corners.
Put simply, Rangers need a more reliable man between the sticks if they are to find the consistency required to challenge at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
There are likely better goalkeepers out there that can come in and do a job and with the cash received from a club like Nottingham Forest, they could put that to good use in other areas of the team.
James Tavernier
James Tavernier is another player who once threatened to become a Rangers icon but, on exposure to the Scottish top-flight, has fallen away both in form and in popularity with the Rangers support.
You’ll find little argument from most observers of the game in Scotland that Tavernier is a threat going forward and can link-up with his teammates in the final better than most defenders in the Scottish Premiership.
However is positional sense, or lack of, contributed to some hapless defensive performances last term and that’s the area of the pitch Rangers need improvement in most, especially away from home.
Another player reportedly wanted by his former boss Mark Warburton, Rangers can afford to lose him and bank the money received to invest in a more pragmatic choice at the back. Pedro Caixinha has brought in plenty of midfield and attacking talent who can replace his creativity and now he needs a full-back whose focus is on defending.
