Glasgow Rangers midfielder Jordan Rossiter has reportedly been told that he is free to leave Ibrox this summer.
It is no surprise that Steven Gerrard has set his sights on trimming his Rangers ranks this summer, with a number of players arriving into what is already a congested squad.
The Scottish Sun reports that five senior players have been told that they can find a new club this summer. And while it will not shock anyone that the likes of Graham Dorrans and Jason Holt are amongst the quintet, it is extremely disappointing that Jordan Rossiter has been named as a player who is free to leave.
Rossiter has endured a difficult spell at Ibrox, and it would be foolish to pretend that it would not be a gamble to keep him at the club beyond this summer.
Injury has restricted the 22-year-old to just 10 Scottish Premiership appearances since his arrival from Liverpool three years ago. Clearly, relying on Rossiter next season would be a mistake.
But it would arguably be a bigger mistake to let the midfielder leave.
Rossiter was incredibly impressive during a loan spell with Bury during the second-half of last season. If Greg Docherty did enough at Shrewsbury to get another chance, surely Rossiter should not be far behind.
Rossiter’s quality and potential was never really in doubt when he left for Gigg Lane. Instead, he needed to prove that he can stay fit and enjoy a prolonged run of games – and he did exactly that.
He is not a player that should be in Gerrard’s starting lineup at the start of next season. But he certainly has the potential to get into that lineup in the coming years if he can prove that his recent run without injury is a sign of what is to come.
It would be a gamble to keep hold of Rossiter. But given the amount of talent that he has and the fact that provided reason for optimism towards the end of last season, it is absolutely a gamble worth taking.
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