Steven Gerrard’s Scottish Premiership challengers Rangers reportedly wanted to sign USA goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann when he left Hertha Berlin.
Jonathan Klinsmann is following in the footsteps of his famous father but, unlike Tottenham and Germany hero Jurgen, one of the most influential strikers of his generation, the 22-year-old is tasked with keeping the ball out of the net at the other end.
The German-born USA U23 international is one of the most promising young shot-stoppers around and, as anyone who keeps an eye on his social media posts will tell you, Klinsmann has the agility and the raw talent that marks him out as a goalkeeper with rather ‘special’ abilities.
Not our words, the words of his former Hertha Berlin coach Zsolt Petry, speaking to the Bundesliga website.
According to the Scottish Sun, Rangers were hoping to snap up Klinsmann over the summer, potentially seeing the 6ft 4ins stopper as a long-term successor for veteran number one Allan McGregor.
He swapped Hertha Berlin for St Gallen instead, however, though life in Switzerland hasn’t exactly gone to plan so far. Klinsmann has been left out of the starting XI for each of St Gallen’s 11 league games in 2019/20 with the youngster forced to prove himself in the Swiss Cup instead.
A straight red card in the second round defeat to Winterthur, then, hardly represents the best way to win over his new manager.
There is plenty of time on Klinsmann’s side, however, and it’s hard to believe that things would be any different had he joined Rangers instead with McGregor’s enduring brilliance keeping the likes of Wes Foderingham and Andy Firth on the bench.
But Klinsmann has so far failed to show what all the fuss was about.
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