How Ryan Jack Could Help Rangers Next Season
Rangers continue to be heavily linked with a move for the one-club man, Ryan Jack, of Aberdeen. He was rumoured to pen a £10,000-a-week contract with MLS side Columbus Crew as well (Daily Record).
Aberdeen skipper Jack is out of contract at the end of May and despite his manager’s insistence that he going nowhere, the player himself has never refused to rule out a move to the Ibrox giants. Such a move will not go down too well with Dons fans, who have little but disdain for the club from Glasgow.
The Aberdeen-born midfielder though is looking to establish himself in the Scotland international squad and will feel he has a better chance of doing that at Rangers. The club know well that they have to get past Aberdeen before getting to Celtic, so taking one of their key players would be a massive coup.
At numerous times this season, Rangers’ biggest letdown has been their defending and it’s a key area of concern. Centre-backs and a new right-back are certainly on the agenda with the club not really making a secret of this.
The bigger picture though is that they need a better quality of defensive midfield player to stop opposition teams in their tracks. Ryan Jack fits the bill perfectly for Caixinha in this regard; he plays box-to-box, can pass and can break up play at will. He even contributes an occasional goal to the cause.
Aberdeen will be desperately keen to keep hold of him after their Scottish Cup final appearance this weekend, though he will be out of contract immediately afterwards. This seems to have put Rangers on high alert. Should the Gers manage to get the Dons captain for no fee, it would be a fantastic piece of business for them and a dagger to the heart of Aberdeen fans.
Not only would Rangers save money on what would be a crucial signing, they would get one over a major rival. There is no love lost between themselves and Aberdeen on the terraces, so stealing their home-grown skipper for free would be a huge coup. Strengthening their own side and weakening Aberdeen’s in one fell swoop would be a massive step towards being Celtic’s nearest challengers next season.
Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has insisted that the player is not interested in going to Rangers, though this is precisely what he needs to say publicly to appease the fans before the cup final at Hampden. Reading between the lines though, should Rangers show real ambition and back Caixinha in the transfer market during the close-season Jack would be open to a move to Glasgow.