Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday is set to leave the club to join Gabala on loan.
Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday has told The Scottish Sun that he isn’t giving up on his Ibrox career as he gears up to join Azerbaijani club Gabala.
The Gers have brought in two new midfielders this summer, with manager Pedro Caixinha swooping to land Ryan Jack and Carlos Pena from Aberdeen and Chivas Guadalajara respectively.
With The Express reporting that a new £1.3million bid has been submitted for Norwich midfielder Graham Dorrans and the Daily Record noting that a £300,000 bid has been rejected for Aberdeen’s Kenny McLean, it’s clear that Caixinha isn’t done boosting his midfield just yet.
Celtic’s Callum McGregor in action with Rangers’ Andy Halliday
Whilst Emerson Hyndman and Jon Toral returned to Bournemouth and Arsenal respectively after Ibrox loan spells, Caixinha may still need some midfielders to leave the club – and one is on the verge of an exit.
Andy Halliday is set to join Azerbaijani club Gabala on a season-long loan deal, having seemingly been viewed as surplus to requirements by Caixinha despite being so important under Mark Warburton.
One of Warburton’s first signings back in the summer of 2015, Halliday was a boyhood Rangers fan who bleeds blue, and he was a vital cog in the promotion-winning side from the 2015-16 season, scoring 10 goals in 48 games.
However, Halliday struggled to replicate that success in the top flight last season, and Caixinha has now decided to let him leave for the season – but Halliday hopes this isn’t the end of his career with his boyhood club.
Speaking to The Scottish Sun, Halliday has admitted that he simply had to leave Rangers in order to play games, as he doesn’t want to be collecting his wage whilst sitting on the bench behind the likes of Jack and Pena.
Halliday added that he thinks the loan move is great as it could enable him to save his Rangers career, with the 25-year-old essentially telling Caixinha that he aims to push for a return to Ibrox by impressing in Azerbaijan, as he truly believes he can still make an impact under the Portuguese boss.
Celtic’s Erik Sviatchenko in action with Rangers’ Andy Halliday
“Of course my No 1 target for the season was to stay at Rangers and try to fight for my place,” said Halliday. “But when you see the amount of players the manager has brought in it became clear I wasn’t going to be a major factor in his plans. Quite a few of the players the manager signed are midfielders so that puts me down the pecking order.”
“I don’t want to be the type of player who sits there and does nothing for the season, picking up his money. I want to play and I have more ambition than that. Hopefully if I do well over in Azerbaijan it will impress the manager enough to play my way into his plans for next year. But at the moment that doesn’t look like it is going to be the case. So it was important for me to find a club and play football.”
“I think the loan deal suits the club as well, which made me a bit happier as well. I hope that it’s not the end of my Rangers career, but only time will tell. I worked very hard to get to Rangers so I certainly won’t be giving up on my place easily. Last season, my performances from January onwards were miles off it. But if I can re-find the form I showed in the first four or five months of the season then I believe I can force my way back into the manager’s plans. I’m first to admit my form wasn’t good enough in the second half of last season. But hopefully if I can find the form I know I’m capable of then I can fight my way back. If it’s up to me then my Rangers career isn’t over,” he added.
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