James Tavernier, the captain of Glasgow Rangers, has had a challenging start to the 2024–25 season for the Ibrox team.
The defender appears to be a ghost of his previous self, and his problems were made worse by another subpar performance from Old Firm against Celtic this past weekend, as they easily won 3-0.
Once again, Daizen Maeda overcame him, terrorizing the Englishman with his quickness down the right-hand side. Is this the end of his stay at the club?
James Tavernier’s future at Rangers
Tavernier’s future was up in arms during the summer transfer window, as several clubs were looking to lure him away from Ibrox, with interest coming from former Rangers managers Steven Gerrard and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, in charge of Al-Ettifaq and Besiktas respectively.
No move materialised before the transfer deadline, yet journalist Graeme Bailey has provided a fresh update surrounding his future, saying: “Exclusive – James Tavernier offered Rangers exit route following Old Firm abuse. Clubs in Turkey and Qatar ready to make moves.”
Could this see the 32-year-old make an unlikely move away from the Gers sooner rather than later? Or will he remain at the club until the end of his current contract?
James Tavernier’s season in numbers so far
Last year, the Englishman scored a career-high best of 24 goals throughout the campaign, while also registering 12 assists in all competitions.
This made him the highest scorer in the squad, yet despite this incredible individual season for the club, they could only win the League Cup as Tavernier’s mentality came into question during the latter months of the season.
Rangers had excellent chances to win the Scottish Cup and Premiership title, but suffered damaging losses to Celtic, Ross County and Motherwell during the run-in.
This lethargy has carried into the current season, with Tavernier failing to really inspire his teammates thus far, winning just three of their opening seven games of the campaign.
Tavernier has failed to score a single goal during these games, while registering just two assists in the process, as his attacking output has dropped significantly from last term.
The right-back has managed to create three big chances while averaging 2.5 key passes per game in the top flight, but those appear to be wasted by those playing in front of him.
He could well be on the wane as a player, especially with his output in front of goal dipping dramatically. This could see Clement having to make a decision on his future sooner rather than later, as January could represent the final chance for the Gers to sell him for a decent fee.
Whatever happens, he has been a wonderful servant to the club, but it looks as though the end is nigh, and it is time for the Light Blues to cash in.
Hopefully, a solid transfer fee is received, similar to the sort that Walter Smith managed to wrangle for defender Alan Hutton back in 2008.
How much Rangers sold Alan Hutton for in 2024 money
Following a stunning start to the 2007/08 season which saw Rangers perform well in both Europe and domestically, Hutton soon became a transfer target for Premier League clubs.
Towards the end of the January transfer window, Smith accepted Tottenham Hotspur’s £9m offer to take the defender down south, representing a sensational profit considering he emerged through the youth ranks at Ibrox.
This fee was clearly too good to turn down, allowing Smith to bolster his squad during the summer of 2008 as he ramped up for a tilt at the league title that season.
In 2024, money, however – with Totally Money having adjusted for inflation over the years – this £9m transfer fee would be worth a staggering £29.8m if he made the same move just now.
This transfer fee is currently over four times more than what Tavernier is worth at the time of writing. According to Transfermarkt, the captain’s market value is currently standing at €6.5m (£5.5m), clearly demonstrating how much the club hit the jackpot by moving on Hutton when they did.
If Clement can get anywhere near the fee Hutton was sold for, then he would be doing extremely well, no doubt about that.
Alan Hutton’s Rangers statistics
The right-back made his debut during the 2002/03 season for the Light Blues, before gaining more of a chance in the next campaign under Alex McLeish, although it was a poor one for the Ibrox side, who finished trophyless.
The 2004/05 campaign saw Hutton establish himself as the main right-back during the first half of the season, but a leg break against Kilmarnock in February 2005 meant he didn’t play a part in either the League Cup final or the title run-in.
Once he recovered, he made a total of 90 appearances for the club before Spurs came calling in 2008, leaving after making more than 100 competitive appearances for the Light Blues since making his debut in 2002.
He was praised highly by former assistant coach Ally McCoist, who said of the defender: “I have no doubt Alan is destined for great things but I believe those great things can be with Rangers. We don’t want to lose players of his quality.”
Unfortunately, barring a rare occurrence, selling players for this type of fee has hardly been done since Hutton departed all those years ago.
While Tavernier is approaching 33, his statistics over the previous few years should mean Clement can place a decent valuation on his head if any clubs continue to sniff around the captain.
Whatever happens, Tavernier must improve his performances between now and the start of 2025, otherwise he could even be dropped by the management team should these poor displays persist over the coming weeks.
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