Rangers fans are well aware of the contract status of many of their key players with a host of top players now into the last 18 months of their current deals.
Two such players are Joe Aribo and Ryan Kent, the former – reportedly – not looking to sign a new deal with interest from the Premier League likely to turn his head, although his performances recently suggest that this isn’t a bad thing.
Giovanni van Bronckorst has not been at Ibrox long but he will already have an idea of who he wants to build his side around, even if some of them have been at the club for a few years now and may be at the end of their natural cycles.
He explained that having players in form is a double-edged sword, but one that he is happy to have to put up with, as reported by The National:
“If you play really well of course you have interest in your players.
“I want to have my players performing really well, when they do that with a club like Rangers then interest will come. But of course we will look into the contracts as well.
“They (Aribo and Kent) are two important parts of the team and I’m very positive about them. I think the club is also very positive about them as well.
“Eventually when you’re both happy you can sign a new deal. We have to see in the coming months how we progress with them.”
Ross Wilson spoke recently about being comfortable with the contract situation at the club and that they would be unwilling to break the wage structure for anyone, however, if the players perform on the park, they will improve their chances of getting a bigger pay deal off it – Champions League qualification moves the goal posts considerably.
Kent and Aribo in particular have looked rejuvenated under Van Bronckhorst, a subtle shift in formation enough to give them more freedom and the opportunity to express themselves, something they have grabbed with both hands but as the boss rightly says, there could well be interest when the January window opens but it does, at least, look as though we are trying to persuade them to stick around just a little while longer.