Rangers’ director of football Mark Allen is a popular man right now at Ibrox and looks set to encourage James Tavernier to stay.
There was a lot of pressure on Mark Allen heading into the January transfer window.
The former Manchester City academy chief was only appointed as Rangers’ director of football in June, but he had endured something of a whirlwind start to life at Ibrox.
Many of the players who arrived in the blue half of Glasgow over the summer – though most were signed before Allen’s arrival and on the recommendation of Pedro Caixinha – flopped spectacularly. And just three months into the season, Caixinha was sacked. Talk about a baptism of fire.
But, to Allen’s credit, he has proven his nous in the January transfer window and now appears to have won over the majority of the Rangers supporters.
Instead of unknown imports, Allen and manager Graeme Murty prioritised players who have proven themselves in Scottish football. In came Jason Cummings, Jamie Murphy and Greg Docherty while the decisions to sign Declan John permanently and bring in Sean Goss from QPR look inspired already.
The 26-year-old’s current deal expires in 2019 and there had been speculation that he could leave during the summer, which did not bare thinking about considering his extraordinary form in 2017/18.
It is understood that Tavernier has held positive talks with Allen and is ready to commit his future to Rangers, which has only improved the reputation of the Ibrox DOF.
Keeping Tavernier could be his best piece of business yet.
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