Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers have a rising star in Declan John thanks to his Scottish Premiership form, but is latest reward down to a Newcastle United man?
Pedro Caixinha didn’t do much good at Rangers, it has to be said.
The Portuguese manager was sacked in October after a fairly awful recruitment drive last summer which caused Rangers to endure a pretty slow start and inconsistent start to the 2017-18 season.
So many of Caixinha’s pre-season recruits have flopped in a big way, but one of the success stories has to be left-back Declan John.
The former Cardiff City defender initially joined the Gers on loan, before Caixinha’s successor Graeme Murty made the move permanent in December.
Consequence of John’s brilliant form, the 22-year-old was called up to the Wales national team – and he might have a certain Newcastle United man to thank if his recall leads to a first cap since 2013.
Newcastle left-back Paul Dummett snubbed Ryan Giggs’s call-up in order to focus on the Magpies and, considering Spurs’ Ben Davies was also included, it’s very probable that John would have been overlooked had Dummett accepted the invite.
Fans of the St James’s Park side will be delighted, as it offers an insight into the 26-year-old’s priorities with Newcastle battling relegation this season.
Evident by their response to the news on Twitter, Rangers supporters are delighted for John – who has two caps – but they won’t be if he comes back from international duty with an injury.
He has missed a few games recently and with Lee Wallace not yet 100%, the Gers can’t afford to not have a recognised left-back, even if Andy Halliday did an okay job there last month.
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