Polarising Rangers star may have played his final game for the club in the Scottish Cup Final against Celtic.

Polarising Rangers star may have played his final game for the club in the Scottish Cup Final against Celtic.

Rangers and Celtic fought for the seventh time this season in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden, and the outcome was familiar. If not an all-too-common story. Rangers fans saw a more pragmatic approach to dealing with Celtic’s forward line, and if it hadn’t been for some extremely questionable refereeing, they could have eked out a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Hampden.

Philippe Clement also modified the starting XI, surprising many people by not including John Lundstram from the start. Hesitating to bring in the midfielder late in the game, Lundstram’s absence may have lost us the Scottish Cup. Nico Raskin’s tired challenge on Paolo Bernardo allowed the midfielder to run forward for Celtic’s goal only moments before the Belgian was hooked by the Scouser.

And in a brief if not helpless cameo at the end of the match, Rangers fans might just have seen John Lundstram in a blue jersey for the final time.

Lundstram’set for Rangers exit’ Lundstram replaced Nico Raskin with minutes to go at Hampden and could do little to save a shell-shocked Rangers.

The 30-year-old midfielder was cut from the squad following a Celtic Park collapse in which an own goal and a rash challenge ended Rangers’ Scottish Premiership title chances. The midfielder had also begun to tire near the close of the season, and when physical and mental strain set in, he suffered a drop in form.

All of this against the backdrop of a rumored impending transfer to Turkey. Both Borna Barisic and John Lundstram have been linked with end-of-contract moves to Trabzonspor, and they may have played their final game for the Gers.

With the Barisic deal much more public, the situation with Lundstram does remain a little up in the air.

But with Clement recently claiming that the ‘water is too deep’ between both parties in terms of wages, it’s increasingly unlikely that John Lundstram will be around next season.

Transfer pressure mounting at Ibrox
One of six whose deals are up in Govan, Philippe Clement hasn’t been shy in criticising Rangers’ recent handling of player contracts.

You get the feeling that the Belgian has been somewhat backed into a corner with an imperfect John Lundstram.

Clement, a trusted lieutenant, has utilized the midfielder regularly and stated that he ‘anticipated’ a new contract to be signed.

However, with Rangers slipping in the title race and Lundstram’s decline in form/fatigue affecting it, fans anticipate significant changes in the summer. Because of Lundstram’s high-paying contract, any new deal carries a significant risk if the midfielder fails to win the title next season. It appears that the Rangers will take an increasingly implausible financial and playing risk.

If Lundstram given the option of another year, or another year regardless, Clement might have had enough time to change the course of the midfielder’s Ibrox destiny. If Lunny leaves Rangers this summer, it will be the end of a three-year tenure marked by ups and downs, culminating in back-to-back Old Firm defeats that altered the competition. Who would have thought that at the last whistle against Leipzig?

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