Sobering Rangers update sparks double Aston Villa raid hope after Van Bronckhorst confirmation
Giovani Van Bronckhorst has been confirmed as the new Rangers manager, but a sobering transfer update could leave them vulnerable to Aston Villa raids, per a report.
Rangers were rocked when Steven Gerrard upped sticks to join Aston Villa last week. The Liverpool legend helped prevent bitter rivals Celtic from securing a momentous tenth-straight league title last year.
Gerrard’s name will forever be written in Rangers folklore as a result. However, deciding to leave the Scottish giants mid-season amid a renewed title challenge from Celtic has drawn criticism in some quarters.
Nonetheless, Rangers have wasted little time in filling the void. Dutchman Giovani Van Bronckhorst was the odds-on favourite to take the reins. Now, Rangers have officially installed him at their helm.
The club’s website confirmed the news that he will become just their 17th permanent manager.
Van Bronckhorst played for Rangers between 1998-2001 and already has a league title on his managerial CV.
He guided Feyenoord to the Eredivisie in 2016-17, and oversaw two Dutch Cup successes. His most recent job was in China with Guangzhou R&F in 2020.
With just over six weeks to go until the January window opens, the Dutchman has plenty of time to assess his playing personnel.
However, a sobering update from Football Insider has given former boss Steven Gerrard encouragement on two potential transfer raids.
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January Rangers approach music to Gerrard’s ears
The online outlet insist that Rangers’ January strategy will be led by a sell before you buy approach.
That could be music to the ears of Gerrard if Van Bronckhorst is determined to bring new faces in. The Aston Villa boss was recently claimed by the Daily Record and Daily Mail to be weighing up moves for Glen Kamara and Ryan Kent.
The pair were instrumental in Rangers’ superb unbeaten SPL campaign last season. As such, their transfer value has soared since moving to Ibrox, but they would be big misses nonetheless.
The Football Insider article namecheck both Kamara and Kent as stars who could be poached.
Furthermore, Joe Aribo, Nathan Patterson, Alfredo Morelos and Connor Goldson are all said to be attracting interest from south of the border.
READ MORE: Gerrard reveals what Jurgen Klopp has promised him when Villa face Liverpool
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