JUST IN: Clement is “disappointed” that another member of the first team will leave the Rangers.
Clement is “disappointed” that another member of the first team will leave the Rangers.
According to Chris Jack, Philippe Clement is not pleased with the situation at Rangers, where Robby McCrorie is expected to leave the team. After submitting a transfer request in January and turning down a new contract offer thereafter, the goalie is now anticipated to depart, according to the journalist speaking on the Rangers Review Morning Briefing on June 5.
The Light Blues have placed a £500,000 price tag on the 26-year-old, who has one year remaining on his present contract. Jack has hinted that a “hefty” sell-on clause may be included, but the manager is quite disappointed that another player is expected to depart after seeing his contract expire. A year after players like Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Scott Arfield, and Filip Helander all left on free transfers, it has been confirmed that John Lundstram, Ryan Jack, Kemar Roofe, and Borna Barisic will also depart on free transfers as their own contracts expire this summer.
About McCrorie’s alleged departure (5 minutes and 30 seconds), Jack stated: “He’s in the last year of his contract. The last few weeks’ scenario has been discussed by the manager. To put it mildly, he is not thrilled that so many people have been permitted to proceed to the last phase of their arrangement.
“Now, it really comes down to using Robby or losing him, and everything seems to be pointing to the Rangers losing him.” Robby McCrorie will leave the Rangers at a reduced cost. The amount of players who have departed for nothing in the last two summers is concerning, with the possible exception of Roofe and Jack, whose ongoing injury problems may have made the expiration of their contracts easier to bear.
Jack has already been mentioned as a possible returner on a pay-to-play basis, while Helander is another who saw injuries ruin his Ibrox career [David Tanner, 1 June].
However, Clement made it clear that he didn’t want to lose McCrorie if a new contract was offered. He had already stated that he would prefer Barisic to stay [Football Scotland, 3 November], and the two are anticipated to reconnect in Turkey. It is understandable that the manager is unimpressed when he is trying to restock the squad on a tight budget when Rangers might have made a respectable amount of money for all three players in addition to Morelos and Kent with better management of the transfer market.
At this point, McCrorie’s departure is not shocking at all, and with Jack Butland on board, things were only going to get harder to manage if he flourished and became a transfer target for the Premier League.
Even though a strong backup plan has been prepared for Clement’s departure, it can be argued that the homegrown keeper’s circumstances were mishandled before Clement arrived when Jon McLaughlin was chosen to open the season as starting two seasons ago. Although knowing when to sell and when to re-sign players is not a precise science, Rangers have seen several chances to earn a return pass them by.
