Fulham were reportedly willing to pay a decent sum to sign Rob Kiernan in January – but now Rangers will let him go for nothing.
There are two ways Fulham could react to the news that January target Rob Kiernan will be let go on a free by Rangers this summer, as reported by the Daily Record.
Either they could view making another move for the defender as nothing more than a no-brainer. Or, on the other hand, the fact that Rangers could farm him out for nothing could set off a few alarm bells.
After all, the Daily Mail reports that Fulham were happy to pay £2 million for his services at the turn of the year.
Freebie flop?
Kiernan had long been expected to leave Ibrox this summer, especially after he failed to make any sort of an impact once Pedro Caixinha arrived at the helm in March. The 26-year-old only featured once in the final two months of the season – albeit largely down to injury.
However, during the latter days of Mark Warburton’s reign, Kiernan’s performances left a lot to be desired. A dreadful 4-1 defeat to Hearts in February hardly convinced supporters that he was worth keeping around beyond the end of the season.
Therefore, despite the fact he has a year remaining on his contract at Ibrox, the cash-strapped club appear so desperate to get him off the books that they won’t even ask for a transfer fee.
And this could certainly play into Fulham’s hands, especially with loanee Tomas Kalas returning to Chelsea after an impressive campaign at Craven Cottage.
Tomas Kalas
However, the fact that Fulham conceded 17 more goals than promoted duo Brighton and Newcastle United in 2016/17 means they may be a top class centre-back away from fighting for the top two next season.
And is Kiernan really the man to take them to the next level?
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