Do it Potter – Swansea signing this Rangers star for £3million could be the steal of the summer

According to reports, Swansea City are keen on signing Rangers right-back James Tavernier. The 26-year-old will be reportedly allowed to leave Ibrox for around £3m.

Swansea City endured a terribly poor campaign last term as they were relegated from the Premier League.

After Carlos Carvalhal replaced Paul Clement as the club’s new manager in late December, it appeared as if the Swans would beat the drop and maintain their Premier League status. However, the club’s mini-revival under Carvalhal went in vain as they were relegated to the Championship, along with Stoke City and West Brom.

Swansea have handed Graham Potter the job to take them back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

The 43-year-old Englishman has spent his entire managerial career in Sweden, becoming something of a local legend for his outstanding work with Ostersunds. Under him, Ostersunds became a dominant force in Sweden, going from being a fourth-tier club to playing Arsenal in the Europa League this past season.

Any new manager tends to rebuild a squad by strengthening the defence first before addressing other departments. And Swansea’s Graham Potter seems to be doing the same thing as he is targeting a move for Rangers right-back James Tavernier.

Tavernier, who joined Rangers from Wigan in 2015, also counts Sheffield Wednesday, Bristol City and Rotherham United amongst his former employers. He has managed to establish himself a mainstay at Rangers, making over 240 appearances for the club.

He played 46 times in all competitions for the Gers in the 2017/18 campaign and netted nine goals from the right-back position, with seven of those coming in the Scottish Premiership.

Tavernier is every inch the modern-day full-back – an aggressive and flashy attacker, who is renowned for his set-piece prowess. The 26-year-old is defensively very naive and was exposed in repeated losses to Celtic this past season. But when it comes to attacking, Tavernier becomes a beast as his tally of nine goals last season is impressive for a defender at any level.

Apart from being a marauding right-back, Tavernier is also a leader as he captained Rangers during a difficult period for much of last season. While Rangers failed to mount a significant title challenge, Tavernier helped them to a third-place finish in the league, behind Aberdeen and champions Celtic.

Tavernier is the best right-back in the Gers squad and he is arguably the best in his position across the entire Scottish Championship. The 26-year-old may not be the most solid defender but his tally of nine goals in all competitions this past season makes it pretty clear what he would bring to Liberty Stadium.

Available for around £3m, Swansea should go for Tavernier as the high-flying right-back would be an upgrade to Kyle Naughton. He would also provide the Welsh club with an excellent outlet in attack next season.