Tavernier would love him: Rangers in talks to hire "sought-after" manager
da mrbet： It’s been another quiet week at Ibrox for Rangers, although is that about to change?
da luck： So far, the most noteworthy Rangers event of the past few days was Cyriel Dessers’ goal for Nigeria, on target on Wednesday in a friendly tournament against West African rivals Ghana.
Elsewhere, on Tuesday, Rangers confirmed they will face Club Brugge and Middlesbrough in pre-season friendlies at Ibrox in July but, for now at least, there’s still no news as to who will be in charge for those games, or indeed, more importantly, the start of Champions League qualification either.
Well, 95 days on from Philippe Clement’s sacking, could the 49ers finally be about to land their new manager?
Rangers ramping up managerial hunt
A whole host of names have been linked with a move to the Ibrox dugout in recent months, with fierce speculation suggesting Steven Gerrard could be on his way back to Scotland after a failed stint in Saudi Arabia.
Also of interest to the Rangers hierarchy are the likes of Russell Martin and Brian Priske. Yet, there’s another name who looks like he may be edging closer to filling the vacancy.
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According to a report by Guillem Balague for BBC Sport, the Rangers hierarchy have ‘held fresh talks’ with Davide Ancelotti this week, adding that ‘further discussions’ are scheduled to take place ‘over the next few days’.
Davide has been a long-time assistant to his father Carlo, working at Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton and Real Madrid.
This month, Carlo left los Blancos by mutual consent to become the new Brazil manager and, at his unveiling, he confirmed “Davide is currently in negotiations with a European team… if he goes to a club, I wish him the best, and if not, he can come back to us.”
Now, it appears increasingly likely that Ancelotti will become the new Rangers head coach, with former Rangers manager Mark Warburton saying that, should he take the job, it would be a “huge step up”, going from being an assistant to occupying the “number one role”.
Well, speaking to STV, Guillem Balague believes Davide to be one of the “most sought-after assistants” in world football, firmly believing he will be a success at Ibrox, so would his arrival be great news for a certain Rangers stalwart?
Why Ancelotti can reignite Tavernier's Rangers career
When James Tavernier joined Rangers from Wigan Athletic for a reported £200k in 2015, the Light Blues were still an SPFL Championship club.
Fair to say, a lot has changed in the subsequent decades, and this has proved to be, inarguably, one of the bargains of the century.
To date, Tavernier has made 513 appearances for the club, only ten men have accumulated more in a Rangers jersey, as the table below outlines.
Rangers players with the most appearances
Players
Career
Appearances
John Greig
1961-78
755
Sandy Jardine
1964-82
674
Ally McCoist
1983-98
581
Sandy Archibald
1917-34
580
David Meiklejohn
1919-36
563
Dougie Gray
1925-46
555
Derek Johnstone
1970-86
546
Davie Cooper
1977-89
540
Peter McCloy
1970-85
535
Ian McColl
1945-60
526
James Tavernier
2015-present
513
All information courtesy of Fitba Stats
Tavernier captained Rangers to the Premiership title in 2020/21, subsequently lifting the League Cup and Scottish Cup too, as well as being the talismanic figure en route to the Europa League Final three seasons ago, scoring seven times during the knockout phase.
However, he has come in for some criticism this season, with Nick McPheat of BBC Sport questioning if he is ‘no longer first choice’, while interim manager Barry Ferguson trialled him as both a centre-back, as part of a back three, as well as at wing-back.
Nevertheless, if Davide’s playing style is at all akin to that of his father, a fluid approach that encourages maximum creativity, this appointment could reinvigorate Tavernier.
Right-back Dani Carvajal was such a prominent attacking figure for Real Madrid, so let’s asses how he compares to Tavernier, with the caveat that the Spanish international has not featured since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament against Villarreal in early-October.
James Tavernier vs Dani Carvajal
Statistics
Tavernier
Carvajal
2024/25 season
Goals
5
1
Assists
13
1
Big chances created
20
0
2023/24 season
Goals
24
6
Assists
12
5
Big chances created
19
4
2022/23 season
Goals
18
0
Assists
10
5
Big chances created
14
4
2021/22 season
Goals
18
1
Assists
17
4
Big chances created
18
7
Stats courtesy of Transfermarkt and Sofascore
As the table outlines, Tavernier’s attacking output has been absolutely off the scale, notably registering 52 assists since the 2021/22 campaign. Taking you back to that point about an Ancelotti side favouring creativity and you can begin to see why he could take quite a liking to the Gers captain.
While Carvajal’s’s numbers are not quite so astronomical, Tobi Peter of Breaking the Lines documents that his ‘attacking contributions are crucial’ for Real Madrid.
So, with the incoming Ancelotti likely to want his full-back to operate high and wide, this could be exactly the appointment 33-year-old Tavernier needs to reinvigorate his career in Govan.
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