Rangers have made a move for Sunderland keeper Jon McLaughlin as back-up for Allan McGregor going into the 2020/21 season with the keeper signing a two-year deal after refusing to extend his contract.
A report in Football Insider claimed that the Scotland international was on Steven Gerrard’s radar two days ago as he looked to replace Wes Foderingham and Jak Alnwick who both recently left the club with nobody in the mainstream Scottish media picking the story up.
McLaughlin was approaching the end of his contract at the end of June and was able to sign for free, and the former Hearts stopper was widely considered as one of the safest pair of hands outside of Glasgow during his days in the Premiership.
He will not only be a reliable understudy but will also represent decent competition for McGregor who has just a year left on his Rangers contract – with no inclination as to whether or not this will be his last season at the club and indeed as a professional footballer, at 38-years old, he will know he doesn’t have long left at the highest level.
Rangers will also be hoping that Robby McCrorie continues to make the progress that he has done so far, improving with every loan spell and although no announcement has been made over where he will be playing his football next season – another season on loan in the Premiership looks the most likely option as he aims to get more top flight games under his belt before being thrust under the harshest of scrutiny at Ibrox.
McLaughlin will play a supporting role to one of the finest number ones in Rangers history, but as was the case with Neil Alexander who is fondly remembered by fans of the Light Blues, a club of it’s stature expects standards to be maintained, regardless of the job that you are paid to do – and any opportunity should be taken with both hands, so to speak.