Good NEWS:Philippe Clement confirmed the return of he’s key players few minutes ago..Todd Cantwell goes back on his word as one year flashback shows Rangers betrayal
Tue 20 August 2024 11:00
Gavin Kelly
Todd Cantwell has made his bed at Rangers, choosing to end his stay in Glasgow to look for a new adventure elsewhere.
After only 18-months at Ibrox, he’s far from outstayed his welcome or grown stale, but it looks like a lot has changed since professing his love for the club only last summer.
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After leaving Norwich City and Bournemouth under a cloud, the 26-year old should be looking to get his head down and prove the doubters wrong instead of jumping ship at the first sign of adversity at Rangers.
READ MORE: Ibrox images latest gives Rangers fans hope of imminent return with timely delivery on its way
Todd Cantwell of Rangers celebrates his teams 3rd goal with teammate Ross McCausland during the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Rangers F…
Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images
Todd Cantwell hasn’t lived up to his own Rangers expectations
Speaking to The Beautiful Game podcast in October 2023, Cantwell discussed a variety of topics and looked like he was here to stay when asked about his decision to join Rangers:
“The moment I arrived to now I feel like I’ve been a Rangers fan my whole life, it’s so weird. It’s honestly so weird. It might sound like ‘he has to say that he plays for them’ but I promise you, however long I play here which as a footballer is out of your control, I’ll always follow Rangers 100%.
“The club has been immensely powerful and it has made me fall in love with football again. There’s expectation, there’s pressure and I love it. I know that me going up there and giving 100% and playing how I want to play, they love it because they love football and they love people who care.”
To go from being a self confessed Rangers fan to wanting to leave in the space of a year is some change of direction.
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He talks about expectation and pressure and yet doesn’t seem to want to deal with either.
Cantwell said all the right things in this interview but is he giving 100% now?
Cantwell’s next move will only be a step down from Rangers
Instead of helping the squad in their attempts to qualify for the Champions League, he was sitting at home watching on TV.
With Rangers down to just Tom Lawrence for the number 10 role, Cantwell should have been knocking on Philippe Clement’s door, demanding to be available for selection.
Clement covered for the wantaway playmaker for two weeks and gave him a second chance, a chance that he didn’t take.
There will be other players that the manager has said can leave and they have still been playing.
With only Trabzonspor and a link to Saudi Arabia so far, Cantwell will be learning a harsh lesson about his status in the game.
To demand a transfer with no club lined up has been naïve at best and borderline unprofessional.
His next move will be down the way where there will be less pressure and less expectation.
If anyone comes in for him at all that is.
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Steven Gerrard head coach of Al Ettifaq looks on after the Saudi Pro League match. Inset, Kevin Nisbet.Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Premiership rivals could swoop for £4m striker Gerrard was desperate to bring to Rangers
Tue 20 August 2024 13:00
Cameron Willis
Ex-Rangers manager Steven Gerrard was known to be a big fan of Scotland striker Kevin Nisbet.
As the Liverpool legend toiled with the Ibrox boardroom over his post-55 budget, the then Hibs striker was earmarked as a leading Rangers target.
A potent and intelligent penalty box striker at his best, in 2021 Gerrard had viewed Nisbet as an extra piece of the Ibrox arsenal as the club looked to retain their Scottish Premiership title.
It was interest that was simmering for a while; Rangers and Gerrard had even been linked to Nisbet during his time with Dunfermline.
The sticking point? According to reports at the time, Rangers would have to pay £4m to bring Nisbet to Glasgow.
Fast forward to the February of 2022 and Nisbet was sidelined for ten months after sustaining a serious ACL injury, the problem interrupting the striker at a crucial moment of his career.
A subsequent move to Millwall happened last summer with the Championship club reportedly paying around £2m for his services.
Two years on from Rangers’ pursuit and one year on from the move to England, the now 27-year-old could be set to return to Scotland.
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And if a deal is complete Nisbet could yet come back to haunt the Ibrox club this season.
READ MORE: Michael Beale confirms fees paid for two of his Rangers signings
Preston North End’s Ben Whiteman competing with Millwall’s Kevin Nisbet (left) during the Sky Bet Championship match between Millwall and Preston …
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
Nisbet wanted in Premiership
It hasn’t really happened for Kevin Nisbet south of the border.
As is commonly the case for players up north who make the switch, things just haven’t gone to plan for a forward who was once staking a claim for a regular place in Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad.
That ACL injury at Hibs really impacted Nisbet, who has suffered from a series of niggles ever since, including a serious hamstring injury.
But the striker also had a very public falling out with Millwall manager Neil Harris which saw him banished from the club’s squad last season.
Playing 29 times and scoring five times for the Lions in 23/24, this campaign the striker looks to be on the move again with the Scottish Premiership a potential destination.
According to the Scottish Sun, Aberdeen are mulling over a move for Kevin Nisbet this summer as they look to strengthen their attack.
The Dons have just sold star striker Bojan Miovski to Spanish Champions League hopefuls Girona for a £6.8m fee this summer.
Having already added Finnish attacker Topi Keskinen to their ranks from HJK Helsinki, it’s claimed the Dons are hoping to strike a suitable deal for Nisbet.
With Nisbet’s wages a potential stumbling block, the deal is anything but complete although the links will turn heads up north.
Rangers face striker transfer dilemma
Rangers have their own issues in the final third and not a lot of cash to try and resolve them.
Philippe Clement has been routinely clear about the club’s transfer limitations with the Gers trying to shift as many as five players from the club’s bloated wage bill.
The days of Steven Gerrard are long gone and so do we suspect are those of Kevin Nisbet when it comes to Rangers, but this is a player who might’ve wound up at Ibrox had the dice landed differently.
Nisbet is also a very dangerous player with a lot of qualities and given the bruising battles with Aberdeen that Rangers have on the horizon, the striker would represent a solid addition for our northeast rivals.
There’s a reason why Rangers News tripped Nisbet as a solution to the club’s problems in the final third.
Rangers meanwhile continue to train up Hamza Igamane as the club’s first choice striker pair Cyriel Dessers and Danilo build form and fitness.
Whilst fans want to see more quality in terms of Rangers’ finishing, the striker berth doesn’t appear to be a priority position with other areas of the squad in more immediate need of reinforcements.
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Scottish Premiership
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