Rangers should not hesitate to ship Jason Holt out on loan
According to The Scottish Sun, out-of-favour Rangers star Jason Holt is on the verge of sealing a loan move away from Ibrox, with the report suggesting that fellow Scottish Premiership side St. Johnstone are keen to acquire the services of the 26-year-old.
St. Johnstone manager Tommy Wright rates the midfielder very highly and he is prepared to offer Holt a chance to resurrect his career at McDiarmid Park, with a loan deal looking likely to materialize before the end of the transfer window on September 2. (h/t Scottish Sun)
Holt spent the last campaign on loan south of the border at Fleetwood Town in English League One after being frozen out of the first-team picture at Ibrox by Gers boss Steven Gerrard.
The former Liverpool star apparently doesn’t have the 26-year-old in his plans for the ongoing season and with twelve months left to run on his current deal at Rangers, Holt might as well be looking to seal a loan move or a permanent exit from Ibrox.
Holt scored twice in 36 appearances at Fleetwood Town the last term under the management of his former Rangers teammate Joey Barton but he might be prepared to settle for a loan move in the Scottish top-flight this term, with St. Johnstone seemingly keen to offer him an escape route.
A product of Hearts’ youth system, Jason Holt rose to prominence in his homeland with his boyhood club and was a part of the squad that won the 2014-15 Scottish Championship title.
Holt also spent time on loan at Raith Rovers in the Scottish second tier, as well as Sheffield United in the third-tier south of the border, before earning a permanent move to Rangers in the summer of 2015.
The central midfielder was an instant hit at Ibrox in his first season, scoring 12 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions to propel the Gers to a promotion-winning campaign in the Scottish Championship.
The Musselburgh-born midfielder continued to be a key first-team player for Rangers in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons but he fell out of favour since the start of the last campaign, with Gerrard reluctant to use him as a part of his plans moving forward.
Having already been deemed surplus to demands at Ibrox last summer, few would have expected Holt to be back in the first-team scheme of things this term. And the arrival of Steven Davis, Glen Kamara, Joe Aribo, as well as Andy King on loan from Leicester City, has pushed the 26-year-old even further down the pecking order at Rangers.
To put things into perspective, it is pretty easy to see that Holt doesn’t have a future at Ibrox any longer, particularly with Gerrard at the helm of affairs, and a loan move to St. Johnstone would be ideal for all parties involved.
The former Scottish youth international is still only 26 and has plenty of time on his side to resurrect his career, which has come to a standstill at Rangers.
Rangers are already well-stocked in their central midfield options, meaning that it would be extremely hard for Holt to get significant playing time under his belt if he chooses to stay put at Ibrox.
Also, with only 12 months left to run on his current deal, this summer might be the last realistic chance for the Gers to cash in on the 26-year-old and recoup some of the money that they had spent to bring him to the club four years back.
The Gers have made a promising start to their league campaign with thumping victories over Kilmarnock and Hibernian and Gerrard will be backing his team to finally dethrone arch-rivals Celtic this time around following a host of new arrivals in the summer.
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Jason Holt, though, is unlikely to be a part of Rangers’ title surge and the Gers should look to trim their wage bill by getting him off their books at the earliest.