Schalke appear to be paving the way for Martin Fraisl to join Scottish Premiership champions Rangers with Austrian journalist Peter Linden saying that the Bundesliga.2 outfit have found a potential replacement.
Was Allan McGregor at fault for Tom Rogic’s equaliser during Rangers’ 2-1 Old Firm derby defeat to Celtic at Ibrox?
Or has the veteran shot-stopper just set such a high standard during both spells in Glasgow that we simply expect too much from a man who, let’s not forget, turned 40 in January?
McGregor’s 2021/22 season has been a strange one. There’s been high-profile mistakes, certainly, but also a lot of performances in which he’s saved Rangers’ skin.
The Europa League round-of-16 victory over Red Star Belgrade comes to mind.
And, even if McGregor is starting to slow down in his old age, replacing him will be no easy task. After all, the Scotland international is not only firmly established as one of the first names on Rangers’ team-mate, he’s also a vital, vocal presence on and off the pitch.
Who will be Rangers’ new goalkeeper?
There may be plenty of pressure on Martin Fraisl’s shoulders when 2022/23 kicks off, then.
According to German publication Spox, the 28-year-old has been offered a two-year deal at Ibrox. He, like McGregor, will be a free-agent in July and Schalke reportedly have no plans to offer him an extension.
And he, like McGregor, has divided supporters throughout the last eight months or so, flitting from the excellent to the error-prone.
“For me, he is an okay second division keeper,” one analyst told 90Min this week. “(Fraisl) has clear weaknesses. He often shows good reflexes on the goal-line, he but also has clear weaknesses in his positioning.”
Given that goalkeepers in the Scottish Premiership usually need a good command of their penalty area, a tendency to find himself in ‘no-man’s land’ something Fraisl must improve upon if he’s to step into McGregor’s shoes.
Or should that be gloves?
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According to Peter Linden, Schalke director Rouven Schroder is scouting Austria Vienna’s Patrick Pentz as a potential successor for Fraisl.
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