Former Rangers right-back, Alan Hutton, has suggested that if his old club was to sign Nathaniel Clyne that it would represent a good bit of business for the Ibrox club.
Speaking to Football Insider, the retired full-back has lauded the quality that the Liverpool defender would bring to the squad.
So what has Hutton said?
When asked about the recent speculation linking Clyne with a move to Rangers, Hutton said:
“Massive, we’re talking about an international player. Yes, he’s had his ups and downs, his problems within his career but he’s still pretty young.
“We know how good he can be, he was a regular for Liverpool for a long time. His qualities are there for all to see.
“Getting a player like that shows the direction Rangers are wanting to go – a top-quality player would add so much talent to the squad already. It would be a big test for Tavernier if he was to come in.
“It would be a great fight – two top-quality players fighting for the jersey.”
So is Hutton correct?
Absolutely, previous to his injury problems, Clyne was competing for the England right-back slot, never mind the one at Anfield, however, he has since seen Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold breakthrough and push him down the pecking order.
Given the emergence of the two youngsters – who are widely regarded as the future of England’s defence – Clyne has been deemed surplus to requirements by Jurgen Klopp.
As Hutton rightly says, he is just 28-years old, but his lack of first-team action in the last two seasons means that he doesn’t have as much wear and tear and should be approaching his peak, in an ideal world Steven Gerrard would like to have two players of that quality competing, but the most likely outcome is that James Tavernier is sold to make way for Clyne.
Who would you prefer at right-back?
Clyne
Tavernier
Tavernier, as skipper, will be one of the highest earners at the club and it is unlikely that the board would sanction having two top earners in one position, with Clyne available on a free it also makes good business sense.
Clyne is definitely a better player than Tavernier with 14 England caps to his name, if he can display the same level of resilience and endurance then he would certainly represent a step in the right direction in Gerrard’s attempts to wrestle the Scottish Premiership title away from Parkhead.