Michael Beale will be Rangers 18th permanent manager.
Well, if the latest report is to believed that is!
Reputable sources at The Telegraph, The Athletic and Sky Sports have all claimed that Rangers have been given permission to speak to Beale and that he is keen to return to Ibrox but we now appear to be one step closer to seeing a new boss named.
Writing on Patreon, The 4th Official, who revealed the compensation fee required to release Beale from his QPR contract, has now claimed that everything is signed and sealed:
“I can confirm it’s done. Michael Beale will be the new Rangers manager.
“I have confirmed with a couple of sources (both of whom I rate quite highly) and the deal is done.
“Talks had been ongoing between Rangers and Beale for a couple of days now (as I said in my last column) and the former Rangers assistant is eager about this new challenge.
“Rangers will pay around £1.5m in compensation to QPR to complete this move.
“I don’t have a timeline for when Rangers will announce this but I can’t expect this to drag on too long.”
Beale was always, according to everyone in the know, the board’s first choice to replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst but they have still taken their time to do due diligence and interview other potential options.
That they have ended back at Beale suggests that he isn’t just the lazy option and that he is the best man for the job.
How he adapts from working behind the scenes to being the main man is going to be his biggest challenge and much will depend on the team he builds around him – even Steven Gerrard was humble enough to admit he needed help.
There are, as with any coach/manager, negatives from Beale’s first time at the club but he has also had time to reflect on these and consider how he can improve areas of weakness – after so many attempts, surely a coach of his reputation has a plan to finally overcome the dreaded low block.
It looks like we won’t have long to find out.