Should Rangers consider Aston Villa’s Gabby Agbonlahor as he prepares to leave the club?

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Aston Villa are set to release Gabby Agbonlahor at the end of the season, ending a 17-year affiliation between club and player.

As reported by The Telegraph, Aston Villa forward Gabby Agbonlahor will be released at the end of the season, regardless of whether nor not the club win promotion.

Agbonlahor joined Villa in 2001 as a youngster in their academy, going on to join the first team in 2005. As well as two short loan spells with Watford and Sheffield Wednesday, the England international has made nearly 400 appearances for the Midlands club, scoring 86 goals along the way.

Despite a dip in form since the Villans dropped into the Championship, having only scored two goals in league across the last two seasons, Agbonlahor still has plenty of football in him aged only 31.

There have been rumours emerging of a potential switch across the Atlantic to the MLS, according to the Telegraph, however, given the fact he will be a free agent come May, Rangers should most definitely be enquiring with his representatives over a possible move to Ibrox.

In January, Graeme Murty and the Rangers board made full use of the loan system, bringing in a number of high quality players for no transfer fee. Given the current financial state of the club, loaning players is often the most plausible and affordable option, but as the end of the season draws nearer, questions have begun to be asked about whether or not the Gers will be able to turn deals for the likes of Jamie Murphy, Sean Goss and Russell Martin into permanent ones.

As a result, with Agbonlahor’s free agent status impending, the 31-year-old may well be worth taking a punt on, should they fail to land some of their existing targets.

The Englishman may not have played a whole lot of football across the last two seasons, however, that is not to say that he has lost his quality.

Not many players can boast 11 consecutive seasons of Premier League experience. Simply take Jamie Murphy as an example, the winger has set Ibrox alight since his move to Glasgow with a much inferior goal record compared to Agbonlahor, with only four games experience in England’s top flight.

With a Scottish mother, Agbonlahor also has a strong connection to the country he could have chosen to represent, and a move to Ibrox may not be too left field, and is something that Rangers should most definitely consider.