Year by year, window by window, the spine of the Rangers side who claimed the Scottish Premiership title under Steven Gerrard in 2021 is slowly crumbling into dust. Last summer, Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Allan McGregor, Filip Helander and Scott Arfield all departed when their contracts expired.
Ryan Jack, Kemar Roofe and Borna Barisic could go too in the coming months.
Ianis Hagi, Leon Balogun and Scott Wright are also facing uncertain futures beyond the current campaign, while reports suggesting that Steven Gerrard could come calling for two of his most trusted Rangers lieutenants have former Ibrox skipper Barry Ferguson readying himself for an emotional farewell.
Tavernier and Goldson linked with Rangers exits
“I had a funny feeling Steven Gerrard might be keeping one eye on Connor Goldson,” Ferguson tells the Daily Record, the Scouser’s Al-Ettifaq side reportedly keen on the long-serving £3 million centre-half as well as Rangers’ talismanic captain James Tavernier.
“So I won’t pretend to be shocked if the former Rangers manager does end up coming calling for both of them in the summer. There’s a reason he brought Goldson to Scotland in the first place and a reason why he handed the armband to Tavernier. They are excellent pros who have been massive servants to the club.
“And, if this is going to be the end for one or both of them, then they will certainly leave with my best wishes. You won’t ever hear a bad word spoken about them from my mouth. Tav and Goldson have been superb signings over the years.”
Ferguson does believe that, if Celtic pip Rangers to the post again, Tavernier and Goldson will leave Ibrox with a pang of regret. The defensive duo may depart Glasgow with only one single Scottish Premiership winners’ medal to show for their time north of the border.
On the other hand, a domestic treble is still very much on the cards. Beat Old Firm rivals Celtic twice between now and the end of May, and Tavernier and Goldson will instead bow out as bonafide living legends.
An overhaul is coming at Ibrox
“If there’s a chance that their time here is coming to an end, then they owe it to themselves to go out in the best way possible,” adds Ferguson, who can understand why two players aged 32 and 31 respectively may be tempted by a head-spinning offer.
“If they only have four more weeks as Rangers players then they still have time to stick another two pieces of silverware in the cabinet before they go.
“I wouldn’t hold it against either of them if they were tempted to make a few quid in the Middle East at this stage in their careers. They’re both in their 30s now and playing football is a short career. If an opportunity comes up to make your family financially secure for the rest of their lives, it can be hard to turn down.
“No one can say they haven’t given their blood, sweat and tears for the club and no one should doubt how much it means to them to wear that shirt. Yes, they’ve had a few bad games over the years. Who hasn’t?
“But they’ve never hidden from the pressure. They’ve confronted it head on.”
Tavernier remains one ofthe first names on Clement’s team sheet despite some criticism over his defensive displays recently. He is guaranteed to start against St Mirren on Sunday. The same cannot really be said of Goldson, however, after Balogun performed so impressively in last week’s Scottish Cup semi-final victory over Hearts in his place.