Russell Martin moved to Scottish Premiership giants Rangers from Championship outfit Norwich City – but will he stay at Ibrox or return to Carrow Road?
But, in truth, the experienced defender has done little so far to justify Rangers making his temporary deal permanent.
Martin has started nine Scottish Premiership games since his arrival three months ago but Rangers fans are perhaps starting to see why he found himself out of favour at Norwich. The Scotland international is no longer the same commanding centre-back that stood out across numerous Premier League campaigns in yellow and green.
And in his most recent outing, the 2-2 draw with Motherwell, Martin was arguably at fault for both of the hosts’ goals. Caught wrong side on the first and out-muscled for the second, this is not the first time of late that he has made some rather naive mistakes that belie his age.
At 32, it is difficult to suggest that Martin should be considered as a long-term option for Rangers – particularly when the club has a number of rising defensive talents waiting in the wings, including Aiden White and Ross McCrorie.
And keeping Martin while failing to tie down David Bates, a defender 11 years younger whose contract expires this summer, would be a bizarre decision.
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