Butland 'motivated' to succeed at Ibroxpublished at 17:14
17:14
New Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland says he feels "motivated" to succeed at Ibrox after penning a four-year deal at the club.
The 30-year-old is Rangers' third summer signing and joins Michael Beale's side from Crystal Palace.
“I’m over the moon," Butland said. "The club speaks for itself. No matter where you are in football, you know about Rangers. This is a huge opportunity.
“I feel excited at what the future holds. Doing that at a club that is equally as passionate about winning and being at the top was huge for me.
“It’s an important summer for the club and we need to get off to a good start. Getting the work done early is hugely important so that we’re settled and raring to go when we come back in.”
Butland becomes Rangers' third summer signingpublished at 17:09
17:09
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Jack Butland joins Rangers with Premier League experience and has nine caps for England
Michael Beale continues to add to his squad as Rangers have confirmed the signing of goalkeeper Jack Butland from Crystal Palace.
The 30-year-old, who has penned a four-year deal, spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Manchester United, but he failed to make an appearance for Erik ten Hag's side.
Following Allan McGregor's departure, Butland - who has been capped nine times by England and has a wealth of Premier League experience - will hope to become Rangers' new number one keeper.
The former Stoke City man is Michael Beale’s third summer signing after the arrivals of Kieran Dowell and Dujon Sterling.
“At 30, he is coming into the prime years of his career," Beale says. "I feel that we have recruited an excellent goalkeeper and, importantly, a top person."
Buffel's advice for Rangers target - gossippublished at 08:43
08:43
Cremonese striker Cyriel Dessers should not concern himself about filling Alfredo Morelos' boots if he joins Rangers, says former Ibrox midfielder Thomas Buffel. (Record), external
The £6.5m asking price for Dessers may mind Rangers to look at Atalanta forward Sam Lammers as an alternative. (Scotsman - subscription), external
Rangers could meet Leeds United in a pre-season friendly at Ibrox, 31 years on from their famous Champions League qualifier. (Herald - subscription), external
Rangers - possibly - back on biggest stagepublished at 13:53 4 June
13:53 4 June
The Ibrox side negotiated a third-round qualifier and a play-off to make it into the groups with their city rivals this season and would have to do the same again this August.
And the task looks particularly daunting, with the likes of Sturm Graz and Dnipro up first before teams such as PSV Eindhoven or Marseille hove into view.
Should Michael Beale's men lose at either qualifying round, they would enter the Europa League groups, where they would likely be in Pot 2.
Rangers learn their fate on 24 July when the draw takes place, with their first game either 8 or 9 August.
'Clubs line up as Kamara considers Ibrox exit'published at 09:44 4 June
09:44 4 June
Finland midfielder Glen Kamara is exploring options away from Rangers and a host of clubs, including Sheffield United, Southampton, Rennes, Nice, Genoa and Frosinone, are interested in the 27-year-old. (TEAMtalk), external
Rangers have made United States striker Haji Wright their number one target to replace Alfredo Morelos and are working on a £7m deal to sign the 25-year-old currently with Turkish club Antalyaspor. (Football Insider), external
Rangers manager Michael Beale expects Steven Davis to eventually move into coaching once the Northern Ireland midfielder decides to call time on his career but hopes the 38-year-old will be able to play next season once he recovers from long-term injury. (The National), external
Ianis Hagi, the Rangers and Romania midfielder who returned to action recently after long-term injury, would be ideally suited to Spanish football, according to his famous former Real Madrid and Barcelona star father, Gheorghe. (The Herald On Sunday), external
'Davies not part of Beale's Ibrox cull' amid Stoke linkpublished at 10:25 3 June
10:25 3 June
Stoke City are among clubs in the English Championship considering a move for Rangers centre-half Ben Davies, but the 27-year-old is not one of those manager Michael Beale is looking to axe as part of his summer rebuild and the Englishman would command a sizeable fee having joined last summer in a £4m deal from Liverpool. (Football Scotland), external
Rangers manager Michael Beale will only decide whether Kemar Roofe figures in his long-term plans once the 30-year-old striker returns from long-term injury. (The Scotsman), external
Departing midfielder Scott Arfield has revealed that he has ambitions to return to Rangers in a coaching capacity one day. (The Herald), external
'True leader' Tavernier the top choice as Rangers' player of the seasonpublished at 13:31 2 June
13:31 2 June
We asked you to choose your Rangers player of the season. Here’s what you said:
Richard: Rangers fans were left wanting from most of the team this year in fairness. Players such as Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos will be fondly remembered and are capable of so much more than what they showed this season. James Tavernier has to be player of the year for me.
Allan: Our best player by far is the captain Tavernier, he has been a true leader. He never lets his head go down and scores more goals than a defender should. His play all over the pitch is outstanding.
Anon: Star player was Scott Arfield, no question.
Jam: Tavernier has to be player of the season for Rangers. Again and again he produces the numbers that should be common for a number 10, but he does it from defence. He loves the club and shows it with his work-rate. Defensively he has been caught out a few too many times this year, but that has been the case across the whole defence.
Luke: Player of the year for me has got to be Tavernier, through thick and thin for the club he's been a rock.
Mari: The aim next season must be to have two strikers with the ability of scoring 20+ league goals. Tavernier’s achieving fantastic results however relying on our right-back and captain to score in every game is unacceptable. With the introduction of the style of Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin the opportunity of winning silverware is possible.
Dean: Poor season in regards to trophies but we have found a gem in Cantwell. Bring on the new season with new players, we need about six.
Steven: Since arriving Cantwell and Raskin have been excellent and it bodes well for the future, but across the whole season, it has to be Scott Arfield. Though often coming from the bench and sometimes only for a few minutes, every minute he was fully committed and giving 100% and who can ever forget those goals at Aberdeen when all seemed lost. A true Ranger.
David: Happy not to have Kent, Morelos or Malik Tillman next year but we really need a prolific goalscorer. For me, Cantwell was the standout player this year.
Lairdy: I've heard talk of Tav for Rangers POTY but I can't nominate him after what was a terrible start to the season. Almost by default that leaves Fashion Sakala. Yes, he was wasteful with chances, but at least he had them - no one else did. He was the only spark throughout.
Image source, SNS
Rangers release nine B team playerspublished at 16:02 1 June
16:02 1 June
Kai Kennedy is among nine Rangers B team players who have been released by the club.
Forward Kennedy, 21, departs along with Tony Weston, Murray Miller, Kevin Ciubotaru, Charlie Lindsay, Lewis MacKinnon, Kelsey Ewen, Harley Ewen and Alex Kpakpe.
Rangers have pledged to provide "extensive support" to all players leaving the academy set-up.
B team head coach David McCallum said: “While it is always disappointing to leave a club like Rangers, I have no doubt each and every one of the lads departing for pastures new will forge a strong career in the game and we will continue to keep an eye out for them.”
Image source, SNS
Who had the youngest team in the Premiership this season?published at 14:35 1 June
14:35 1 June
Aberdeen are top of the table when it comes to the average age of starting teams in the Scottish Premiership season.
With the likes of first-team regulars Duk, Liam Scales and Leighton Clarkson all 24 or younger, and with homegrown players Connor Barron and Ryan Duncan also getting game-time, the Dons had an average age of under 26.
Oldest of the lot were St Johnstone, closely followed by Rangers and St Mirren. With Ibrox boss Michael Beale having already begun driving down the age of his squad in his summer rebuild, will new Perth manager Steven MacLean do likewise?
Below is the full list of average starting age, in years and days.
Who's your Rangers player of the season?published at 16:20 31 May
16:20 31 May
It's been a strange old season for Rangers. A dismal European campaign, no trophies, and Giovanni van Bronckhorst replaced as manager in November by Michael Beale.
Since then results have improved, but they were beaten to the league title by Celtic, and also lost to their Glasgow rivals in the Viaplay Cup final.
Who has been your standout performer in blue this season? Have your say here.
Image source, SNS
'I had a lot of clubs in for me' - Sterling on why he chose Rangerspublished at 10:29 31 May
10:29 31 May
Image source, Getty Images
Dujon Sterling says one conversation with Michael Beale was all it took to convince him snub interest from other clubs and sign for Rangers.
The 23-year-old Chelsea defender, who spent this season on loan with Stoke City, arrives at Ibrox on 1 July to become Beale's second summer recruit after Kieran Dowell.
“I got to speak to the gaffer straight away, I had a lot of clubs in for me but as soon as he gave me the proposal of what he wanted to do I left that meeting and I said. 'Yeah, I'm signing here,'" Sterling told RangersTV.
“I wasn't expecting to make my mind up about my future this quickly but what he proposed to me was everything that I need.
“It was how much passion he has to win, how much he wants to see players succeed and how much he believes in my ability as well."
Sterling is convinced joining Rangers will make him a better player and he hopes to contribute at both ends of the pitch.
"I am a hard tackler, I like to be in battles," he added. "I do like to get forward when necessary, but I always make sure I do the first part of my job and that is defending properly."
'Goalkeeper Butland holds Rangers talks'published at 09:11 31 May
09:11 31 May
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Jack Butland, who has been on loan to Manchester United, held talks with Rangers on Tuesday evening as the 30-year-old looks to finalise a move to Ibrox. (Daily Mail), external
Rangers were handed a boost in their bid to sign Jack Butland, who is out of contract with Crystal Palace after his loan spell with Manchester United, after Old Trafford manager Erik ten Hag admitted he wants to sign a goalkeeper to compete with David de Gea. (Football Scotland), external
Malik Tillman, the 21-year-old midfielder who has been in talks about making his loan move to Rangers permanent, could be left in transfer limbo after Bayern Munich sacked sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic. (Daily Record), external
Galatasaray will make a formal contract offer to Colombia striker Alfredo Morelos following the 26-year-old's release by Rangers. (Fotomac), external
Honduras winger Luis Palma has told homeland outlet Diez he is "1000%" certain to leave Aris Thessaloniki and expressed his admiration of England's Premier League and the Scottish Premiership, but despite reports in Greece suggesting he is potential target for Rangers, the 23-year-old is not currently on manager Michael Beale's radar. (Daily Record), external
Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack says the summer rebuild under Michael Beale will not be as extensive as the one he experienced when Steven Gerrard took over. (Glasgow Evening Times), external
Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack has dismissed Scotland retirement talk after the 31-year-old insisted he can handle the dual strain of representing club and country despite recent injury problems. (Daily Record), external
Sakala receives Zambia call published at 11:38 30 May
11:38 30 May
Rangers forward Fashion Sakala has been named in the Zambia squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Sakala, 26, bagged 12 goals and eight assists in the Scottish Premiership this season.
His last international goal came in March in his country's 3-1 win over Lesotho.
Zambia face Ivory Coast on 17 June.
Image source, SNS
Souttar 'back where he belongs' says Gordonpublished at 11:07 30 May
11:07 30 May
Image source, SNS
Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon is "delighted" Rangers and Scotland supporters are again getting a glimpse of his "fantastic" former teammate, John Souttar again as the defender enjoys a strong end to a frustrating season.
Souttar, 26, suffered another ankle injury in August which saw him sidelined for the majority of his first year at Ibrox, until the tail-end of the campaign.
“I’m delighted for John, he had an injury last season that carried into this season. He was desperate to play that first game of the season, perhaps he maybe wasn’t quite ready and was out then for an extended period of time which isn’t what you want when you first go to a new club.” Gordon said on BBC Scotland's Scottish Football Podcast.
“You want to settle in, you want to get out on the training pitch and get to know the other players and he got robbed of that a little bit.
“It’s a difficult time to go through that, especially at a new club where he hasn’t been before, people don’t know him and what he’s capable of."
Souttar worked his way into Michael Beale's side for the final few months of the season, completing 90 minutes in seven of the last eight league games, and has been named in Steve Clarke's Scotland squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers.
“I’m glad to see him now putting in the kind of performances that certainly everybody at Hearts knew he was capable of," the Scotland shotstopper added.
"He is a fantastic defender but not only that, his passing from the back sets him apart from a lot of the other defenders.
“His calmness on the ball going forward is going to be a huge asset for Rangers, as it was when I played alongside him at Hearts so it’s great to see him back.
“I hope he stays fit now and he can get an extended run of games. It’s great to see him in the Scotland team, that’s where he belongs.”
St Mirren 0-3 Rangers: Your viewspublished at 10:58 30 May
10:58 30 May
We asked for your thoughts after Rangers ended their Scottish Premiership campaign with a 3-0 win in Paisley.
Here's what you had to say:
Ronnie: A good performance in the final game augers well for next season. This was not a disaster season; our points tally would have won the title more often than not, but the Old Firm losses decided it. We need a centre forward, that must be our priority. Colak is not the answer, despite scoring he contributes nothing else. Souttar looks the real deal and a steal from Hearts.
Martin: The season is over, and the rebuild of the squad has now started. We need to hit the ground running in August - we have to be ready.
'Rangers closer to Sterling deal amid Douvikas link'published at 09:04 30 May
09:04 30 May
Rangers will announce the signing of Chelsea right-back Dujon Sterling, who has been on loan to Stoke City, this week after Ibrox manager Michael Beale travelled to London to secure the 23-year-old's arrival. (Football Scotland), external
Rangers have expressed an interest in a summer deal for Utrecht striker Tasos Douvikas, with the Dutch club looking for a fee of around £6.9m for the 23-year-old. (Football Insider), external
Jose Cifuentes appears to be trying to put pressure on Los Angeles to sell him to Rangers this summer, with the clubs so far unable to agree a fee for the 24-year-old midfielder. (Daily Record), external
Filip Helander has been offered the chance to train with former club Malmo after the 30-year-old centre-half was released by Rangers following a long spell on the sidelines through injury. (Football Scotland), external
