Having been linked and being in talks with Burnley midfielder Joey Barton, another link today is Barton’s former Queens Park Rangers colleague Niko Kranjcar.
Striker and top scorer Marytn Waghorn has been speaking to the media in the build up to the Scottish Cup final against Hibernian at Hampden, and he’s given his thoughts on the players we have been linked to – and the recent signing of Jordan Rossiter from Liverpool.
Speaking about Barton, Waghorn said it would be unfair to judge somebody on their past and if Joey does arrive at the club, everybody should give him a clean slate and with manager Mark Warburton already saying any additions would have to fit with the group that exists, he also believes that if the gaffer thinks Barton can add something to the group, he would.
‘You don’t know how Joey will fit in until he actually comes. You can’t judge somebody from what they have done in the past – you can only see what they are like when they are here in person. Joey is a character, he’s known for winding people up and getting under their skin – but that’s only out on the pitch. Yeah he’s had trouble in the past and has lots of things to say, but so does everyone, and you’ve just got to get on with it.’
With the speculated move for Croatian international Kranjcar who has spent time recently with New York Cosmos, as well, Waggy said he believed it was a strong statement of intent when it came to Rangers’ ambitions for the coming season and our return to the Premiership.
‘The quality of these two players is different class. They have shown over the years what they can do in the Premiership down south. They have a huge amount of experience and for us as a club to be looking at players like that is only a positive. Joey Barton is known as a tough-tackling midfielder but if you look at his performances for Burnley this year he can play a bit as well. He would be great experience-wise for the middle of the park. It would be great competition for guys like Andy Halliday, Jason Holt, Dean Shiels and Nicky Law, who have all done great this year. It shows we’re going in the right direction if we can attract players like that.’
A further boost with signings like those two Waghorn knows would be the extra boost they would be to the group should we qualify for Europa League action next season as well.
‘If we get into the Europe League, competition will be key. You need to have a squad that is competitive from number one to 20. We’ve been linked with Barton and Kranjcar but the signing of the young boy Jordan Rossiter is another key one. I’ve spoken to a few people down at Liverpool and they speak highly of him. So out intentions are good. The higher the calibre of player we have, the more it will bring out the best in the guys here, so the more the merrier.’
Having missed eleven weeks of the campaign with his knee injury, Waghorn also spoke about how the excitement is building for the Scottish Cup final – given that was what he was there to talk about.
‘Every player involved in a cup final will dream of scoring a last-minute goal. I’ve done that and the last couple of days I’ve been like a big kid getting excited for the game and dreaming about picking up the trophy. But I know that’s going to be a tough ask. Hibs will have a point to prove after the disappointment of missing out on promotion. If we play our game we should be okay but it’s a cup final and anything can happen.’
