Ex-Rangers wonderkid John Fleck is starring for Sheffield United.
John Fleck in action for Rangers
Five years on from Rangers’ administration and liquidation, the club are still fighting to reclaim their spot in the top two of Scottish football.
The Gers face a battle with Aberdeen for second place this season, and the club are hoping to chase down Celtic before they can make it ten league titles in a row.
With Pedro Caixinha the latest man brought in to try and steer Rangers back to greatness, it’s clear that the club haven’t quite rebounded from their 2012 nightmare just yet.
The upheaval in almost five years has been huge, as the club lost a number of players in 2012, who rejected the chance to transfer their contracts to the ‘new’ Rangers – with varying success for those players who engineered acrimonious exits from the club.
Sone Aluko, Steven Whittaker, Steven Naismith, Allan McGregor and Steven Davis have all played Premier League football since leaving Rangers, with Kyle Lafferty and Jamie Ness yet to really hit domestic heights in England, whilst Rhys McCabe as well as Tom and Kim Skogsrud have faded into obscurity.
One player who has taken a while to hit his stride since declining the transfer of his Rangers contract is playmaker John Fleck, who was famously touted as ‘the Scottish Wayne Rooney’ during his time coming up through the ranks at Ibrox.
Rangers’ John Fleck takes a corner
The playmaker chose Coventry over Rangers back in 2012, and after almost 200 appearances for the Sky Blues, he moved on to Sheffield United last summer, where his career has really taken off.
Fleck, now 25, has become a mainstay of Chris Wilder’s promotion-chasing League One side, notching two goals and a league-high 12 assists in 37 appearances as the Blades close in on the title.
The Scot was rewarded for his performances with a well-deserved spot in the League One Team of the Season, and the creative midfielder will be hoping to continue his ‘assist king’ reputation in the Championship next season.
He’s taken a while to blossom, but Fleck is starting to show why he was so highly rated at Rangers – and things may only get better for the midfielder after his fine campaign this season.
Would you want Fleck to re-join Rangers one day?
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