Rangers pushing extremes with reported transfer target McAuley, could be Gerrard masterstroke

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Rangers are linked to Gareth McAuley.

Glasgow Rangers’ plan to sign Gareth McAuley reported by the Daily Record came out of the blue, and it is one which will divide opinion at Ibrox.

Former bosses Pedro Caixinha and Mark Warburton tried the route of signing ageing veterans, bringing in Joey Barton, Bruno Alves, and Clint Hill.

Of the three, only Hill could be quantified as being a moderate success.

Fans were rightly worried when Rangers were linked with signing an ageing Martin Skrtel last month, but compared to McAuley, the Slovakian seems like a spring chicken at 33.

McAuley then is a transfer target which takes it to the extreme, with McAuley 38-years-old.

He is just about as far as Rangers can push it when it comes to bringing in an older player, and it should be noted that he is six months older than manager Steven Gerrard.

Yet there is reason for Rangers fans to be positive that McAuley’s addition can be a masterstroke.

Each of Barton, Alves, and Hill had flaws. Barton had character issues, Alves had no experience of British football, and Hill had little experience at a high level.

McAuley addresses each of these concerns, seen as a model professional, who has played the last seven seasons in England’s Premier League, and starred for Northern Ireland at Euro 2016.

For one year, as a stop gap, he is an immediate upgrade for Rangers, and while fans are right to be concerned about his age, he is still good enough to be a valuable first team player.