Why Alan Hutton should avoid a Rangers return

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Scottish Premiership giants Rangers are reportedly keen to re-sign Alan Hutton from Championship side Aston Villa.

Expect emotional scenes at Ibrox if Alan Hutton returns home this summer.

Ten years after he left for Tottenham in a £9 million deal, the Birmingham Mail reports that the 33-year-old has been lined up for a shock move to Rangers with his Aston Villa contract about to expire.

But Hutton should not let his heart rule his head. The 50-capped Scot was one of Villa’s top performers last season as they reached the Championship play-off final, and the fact that manager Steve Bruce is desperate to keep him at the club speaks volumes about his performances.

Unfortunately, however, Aston Villa’s dire financial situation means Hutton could be released with the likes of Middlesbrough sniffing around one of the second tier’s most consistent defenders.

There is little doubt that the former Mallorca loanee still has the quality and reliability to play first-team football at a decent level, so he should think twice about moving to Rangers in the autumn of his career when a place on the bench is perhaps more likely than the starting XI.

Regardless of whether Hutton arrives or not, surely James Tavernier will remain Rangers’ number one right-back. He has come on leaps and bounds in the last year, scoring or assisting 18 goals last season.

Hutton is a far more solid defender but so much of Rangers’ attacking threat goes through Tavernier, and the veteran Villa ace simply could not provide the same cutting edge going forward.