Opinion: Gerrard would do Rangers a huge favour if he lets 31-year-old leave the club in January

Why Rangers must allow Lee Wallace to leave in January

Championship side Wigan Athletic are eyeing a move for Rangers left-back Lee Wallace in January, according to the Scottish Sun.

Wigan boss Paul Cook is looking to strengthen his defensive options in January and wants to sign Lee Wallace, who has fallen out of favour at Ibrox. The report adds that Cook is hoping to use his friendship with Rangers manager Steven Gerrard and secure the services of the left-back in a cut-price fee when the transfer window reopens.

Wallace, 31, has been on the books of Rangers since the summer of 2011 when he joined from Heart of Midlothian. The defender has gone on to make a total of 260 appearances in seven years, scoring 25 goals and setting up 58 in the process.

The 2017/18 season turned out to be a disappointing one for the Scotsman as he suffered a double hernia injury early in the season.

Steven Gerrard replaced Murty earlier this summer and the Gers have shown signs of improvement in their domestic campaign after inflicting the first defeat of the season on league leaders Hearts before the second international break.

Under Gerrard, Rangers signed more than a dozen players in the summer transfer window to challenge Celtic for the title. Also, the former Liverpool skipper offloaded some players in the summer to maintain the balance of his squad.

Speaking about Wallace, the 31-year-old has made just one appearance in the Scottish Premiership for Rangers so far this season. He made a cameo appearance off the bench in the 3-3 draw with Motherwell at the end of August and has made it to the matchday squad on just four occasions, clearly suggesting that he doesn’t have a future at Ibrox under Gerrard.

Summer signing Borna Barisic has established himself as Gerrard’s first-choice left-back, with former Liverpool defender Jon Flanagan providing cover in that position. Andy Halliday can also fill in at left-back in case of an emergency, meaning there is enough cover in the left-back position at Rangers.

As things stand, Wallace is going to struggle for playing time this campaign. He is in the final year of his contract and selling him in January would allow Rangers to earn some transfer fee rather than lose him on a free at the end of the season.

Read more: Why Rangers must splash £2m to permanently sign this on-loan starlet – could be a long-term investment

And therefore, Gerrard must accept any offer that comes in for Wallace from Wigan.