Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement will have his first chance to have a prolonged chance to shape his squad at Ibrox this summer.
The Belgian boss arrived in Scotland in October to take over from Michael Beale, who had been sacked at the start of the month, and this meant that he did not have a chance to do business in the summer transfer window.
Head of recruitment Nils Koppen, who joined at the start of the year, teamed up with Clement in the recent January transfer window to land Mohammed Diomande, Oscar Cortes, and Fabio Silva on loan.
However, they only had a month to work their magic and this made it difficult to do permanent deals, move players on, and possibly land their preferred targets as clubs and players may not want to move midway through a campaign.
This summer will provide the Gers chiefs with a proper chance to assess the squad and make any changes that they feel will give them the strongest squad possible for the 2024/25 campaign.
One of those changes could include cashing in on Rangers star and captain James Tavernier, who has been linked with a move away from Ibrox.
The fee Rangers could want for James Tavernier
Former Rangers goalkeeper Cammy Bell recently suggested that the Light Blues may look at a fee of around £4m to let go of the right-back this summer.
The ex-Gers shot-stopper suggested that £10m would be an unrealistic price tag for a 32-year-old playing in Scotland, and that the money on offer in Saudi Arabia could be "life-changing" for Tavernier, who he claims is happy in Glasgow.
Meanwhile, the Daily Record recently reported that former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard is eyeing up a double swoop to sign the defender and Connor Goldson for Al-Ettifaq.
The report claimed that a deal could be thrashed out at the end of the season to take the ex-Newcastle United full-back to Saudi Arabia in the summer transfer window, whilst the English manager may have to convince his club to also splash the cash on the centre-back.
It also stated that Clement could free up a staggering £70k in wages by ruthlessly cashing in on the experienced pair, which could free up both squad space and budget to bring in fresh young talent to lead the team into the future.
The Belgian tactician may want to develop his own Gers legends and not be tied to the success of the past, by forging his own heroes in the fire of Scottish Premiership action over the years to come.
Cashing in on Tavernier, in particular, could also represent a huge profit for the Scottish giants, as the £4m fee Bell mentioned is significantly higher than the one they paid to sign him from Wigan Athletic.
How much Rangers paid for James Tavernier
In the summer of 2015, then-Gers boss Mark Warburton swooped to land the former Newcastle United prospect from the Latics for a reported fee of just £200k.
This means that a £4m sale to Al-Ettifaq, or any other club in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere for that matter, would represent a profit of 1,900% on that £200k signing.
The Light Blues would, therefore, have hit the jackpot on Tavernier both in terms of the fee they would have sold him for, and his contributions on the pitch after being brought in for such a modest fee.
Since joining from Wigan in 2015, the 32-year-old star has racked up a staggering 125 goals and 128 assists in 455 appearances for the club in all competitions.
At the end of March, Tavernier scored his 131st goal in professional football and became the highest-scoring British defender in the history of the sport so far, which speaks to the exceptional quality he has provided on the pitch as an attacking threat from a right-back position.
He was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame alongside Steven Davis and Allan McGregor last year, as the three players became the first stars to join the prestigious group since 2014.
To date, Tavernier has won one Premiership title, one League Cup, and one SFA Cup at the top level with the Gers, along with a Challenge Cup trophy and the second tier title.
However, the interest from Saudi Arabia, the potential star of a new era with Clement, and his recent struggles against Celtic could mean that this summer is the ideal time for him to be boldly sold.
James Tavernier's form for Rangers this season
The experienced defender has provided a big threat in the final third with an almost constant stream of goals and assists from his position at right-back.
Tavernier has fired in 17 goals and provided his teammates with nine assists in 34 appearances in the Premiership for the Light Blues so far this term.
However, his defending has been questionable at times this season, and cost the Gers in the recent 3-3 draw with Celtic at Ibrox on the 7th of April.
Within the opening 30 seconds of the match, Tavernier showed no urgency to go and clear the ball and allowed Daizen Maeda to close him down and deflect the full-back's lackadaisical attempted clearance past Jack Butland from the edge of the box.
The Japan international then robbed the defender of possession – one of a whopping 28 times he lost the ball – inside the Rangers half in the build-up to Celtic winning the corner that they won a penalty from, thanks to a handball by Goldson.
After that performance, FFC published an article calling for the manager to boldly drop the skipper, due to his mistakes in the match that set a poor standard for the rest of the team.
In October of last year, ex-Rangers right-back Steven Whittaker, who went on to play in the Premier League with Norwich, claimed that Tavernier could improve defensively and needs to look at that side of his game, to complement his attacking work.
Deal in place: “Magnificent” Rangers star’s exit edges closer this summer
An agreement has reportedly been reached with another club.
ByHenry JacksonApr 27, 2024
The 32-year-old, who the manager described as "important" in November, seems unlikely to improve much from a defensive perspective at this point, given his age and his recent errors against Celtic that show that there is still a weakness there.
Therefore, Clement should boldly ditch the captain to make a huge profit for Rangers in the summer, and then look to replace him with a well-rounded right-back, whilst adding more quality to the attacking areas of the pitch to ensure that his sublime return of goals and assists are not missed.
