Philippe Clement speaks out on James Tavernier after Rangers speculation

Philippe Clement has shared his verdict on James Tavernier after increased speculation about his Rangers future this week.

The Gers captain has been heavily linked with making a last-ditch move to Turkey [HITC, 6 September], with their transfer window open until 13 September.

However, speaking at a question and answer session at Edmiston House in Glasgow on 10 September, Clement namechecked Tavernier as one of few “leaders” still at the club following his squad rebuild.

In quotes shared by Glasgow World (11 September), Clement said: “It is very important for a manager to have a few of those types in your dressing room.

“In that way, we need to create new types – [John] Lundstram for example was a type like that last season.

“Others now need to take over that role. Some are still in the building like Tav and Jack (Butland).”

James Tavernier increasingly likely to stay at Ibrox

Until January at the very least, it seems as if Tavernier will remain a Rangers player despite the attention surrounding his long-term future at Ibrox – fuelled by significant interest from Besiktas [Fotomac, 9 September].

While bringing in a nominal seven-figure fee for a 33-year-old defender who could be past his best would be good news from a business perspective, an immediate replacement would be hard to come by.

Although there are still several free agents on the transfer market, including some who could be like-for-like replacements such as Cyrus Christie [HITC, 7 September], the Light Blues need better than that.

Instead, Clement has kept faith with his captain, starting Tavernier in all seven of the matches so far in the new season in the biggest showcase yet that the Belgian sees the defender going nowhere.

An exit from Ibrox will undoubtedly come one day, but as the Turkish transfer window finally edges towards closing, it seems increasingly unlikely that such a day will be any time soon.

In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton has given his verdict on Clement’s long-term future following a “messy summer” at Ibrox.

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