Philippe Clement said that James Tavernier and Connor Goldson will “cost a lot of money” to leave Rangers and are therefore expected to stay with the team until the next season.
The manager of the Gers denied rumors that connected former manager Steven Gerrard to two transfers from Saudi Arabia for his former Ibrox defenders [Daily Record, 24 April], stating that the rumors had no bearing on his work in Glasgow.
Captain Tavernier’s form was criticized following his error in the draw with Celtic, and Goldson lost to Leon Balogun in the Scottish Cup semi-final last week. However, Clement reiterated that both players are still “important” to him.
“Yes, I expect them to be here next season,” the Belgian stated in a press conference. That’s what I’m hoping for. Have I conversed with them? No. There’s no justification. When a player is uncertain, wants to leave, or has reached the end of their contract, they come to talk to me.
Because there are so many rumors and fake news in the world these days, we won’t train too much or I won’t be able to talk about a lot of interesting topics if I have to chat with every player about every rumor that exists. So it’s a waste of energy if you have to talk about that all the time.
Subsequently, he stated to Sky Sports Scotland, “It will be very expensive.” Nothing regarding that was mentioned to us. These two guys are crucial for the upcoming season as well, in my opinion. Since I didn’t hear anything, I won’t address every rumor. There are new rumors every week; otherwise, I would have too many irrelevant topics to discuss.
Also not anticipated to return to former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is James Tavernier.
Based on the manager’s reaction to rumors, it would seem that Tavernier and Goldson are still under contract at Rangers.
However, he was much more direct when discussing last month’s contract negotiations about John Lundstram’s potential departure; despite this, it looks like the midfield player has recently reached an agreement to sign with Trabzonspor.
Although the circumstances aren’t quite the same because the two seasoned defenders are bound by contracts and the team would have to accept offers to release them, it does demonstrate that money talks and that, in Lundstram’s case, he appeared to be demanding more than the Light Blues were prepared to offer.
The Saudi Pro League is no longer offering astronomical sums of money, but exits are still a possibility if existing ties to Gerrard do turn into something more substantial.
Although they have both received harsh criticism for not being able to compete with Celtic for trophies, Goldson and Tavernier have both played significant roles in Rangers’ recent history.
It would be much more difficult to replace the captain’s contributions—at least in attack—than the center-back who was benched at Hampden, based on previous performance, but both would leave significant holes.
Although it’s obvious that Clement doesn’t anticipate having to replace them, that might change given the amount of movement that’s sure to occur in the summer.
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