Barry Ferguson believes James Tavernier will hold talks with Rangers about a “life-changing” transfer to Saudi Arabia this summer.
Reports from the Middle East (17 April) claim that ex-Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard wants to sign the skipper and has convinced his current bosses to authorise a deal, surely leaving Philippe Clement furious that he could lose his main man.
However, in an interview with GoRadio on April 24, a different former Ferguson captain predicts that Tavernier will hold negotiations this summer to discuss the idea, given the amount of money that is probably going to be offered.
“The rumours that surfaced in the summer have persisted,” he declared. “There must be some truth to it because they returned during the January timeframe and have since surfaced again in the last few days.
“I believe it will depend on James Tavernier’s intentions. There are still two years remaining on his deal. However, the nature of money in Saudi Arabia is well known to all. It might have a profound impact. Thus, it will be fascinating to see what happens come the end of the season.
“If you felt you could still make a contribution to the team, you would stay at Rangers because you want to try and win trophies and play in front of 50,000 fans. But there comes a stage where even though your head can still do it, your legs just start to give up.
“I don’t think James Tavernier is at that stage because there is still a lot of football in him, but it might not come around again. I’m sure he’ll sit down and discuss it with his advisors and see what happens going forward.”
This summer, will James Tavernier be leaving Rangers?
Would it be the proper thing to see Tavernier go? It would be a major decision and a major changing of the guard at Ibrox.
Heart and Hand recently admitted they feel the time is right, while the 31-year-old only has two years remaining on his contract and this could be the last chance the club have to really cash in.
But losing someone as influential as Tavernier would be something that isn’t easy to replace, and Clement would have a huge task to replace him in the summer.
The club already clearly have plans for the summer, and Clement will know what he wants to do with incoming and which positions to target but with extra cash it could be the perfect way for the boss to stamp himself on the squad.
There’s no guarantee that he will leave, but if he did go it wouldn’t be the end of the world for the club so it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.
