Rangers let Nottingham Forest sign Barrie McKay on a cut-price deal – and Mark Warburton couldn’t be more grateful.
Most Rangers fans would agree with chairman Dave King’s assertion that selling Barrie McKay to Nottingham Forest for just £500,000 was nothing other than ‘bad management’, as reported by the Scotsman.
The now sacked Rangers coach Pedro Caixinha has copped the blame for letting arguably the club’s most talented asset leave for a fraction of his market value in the summer. Caixinha clearly was not a fan of the spindly McKay and, even though the 22-year-old insisted that he wanted to extend his contract beyond 2018, sold him to Forest for a remarkably low transfer fee.
And McKay has proven a point to his old employers in style this season. He has four goals and seven assists already for Forest, no player in the Championship has set up more, and has thrilled supporters with his exciting attacking displays.
Thus, Forest boss Mark Warburton is understandably delighted that his former club were willing to let McKay go for mere pocket change.
“Our job is to get the best possible deal we can for Nottingham Forest,” Warburton, who gave McKay his chance in the Rangers first-team during his spell in charge at Ibrox, told the club’s official website.
“I will never comment on Rangers’ business activity. But we were delighted to get Barrie on board. We are striving for more consistency now, but there is no doubt about the talent he brings us. Barrie is an outstanding young player.”
Considering that Rangers paid far higher fees in the summer for the likes of Eduardo Herrera and Carlos Pena, imported signings who are yet to fully convince, the decision to let a proven and highly-talented homegrown prospect leave via the back door continues to look a bad one.
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