A couple of weeks ago the idea of James Tavernier packing his bags and leaving Rangers and Ibrox behind seemed high.
The club captain came under ferocious abuse from the fan base for a mistake against Hearts, failing to clear the ball and ultimately allowing them to score.
Furthermore, the right-back then claimed the Light Blues didn’t have the mentality to perform well under pressure and couldn’t deal with the situation when put in those circumstances. Revealing so in a set of programme notes, it wasn’t the best of ways to atone for your errors.
Tavernier has been a Rangers stalwart down the years, playing 242 times for them. However, his future has never been so unclear.
The defender was linked with a switch away last year but recent reports have seen him attract the interest of clubs in England. On top of that, it’s believed that their valuation of the skipper has plummeted from £8m to £4m.
Providing there is another transfer window in 2020, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was one of the first names leaving for pastures new.
Yet, this could be disastrous news for a certain Alfredo Morelos.
The Colombian pitbull has only scored one goal in 2020, but like Tavernier, has been touted with a switch away. Whether he does or not isn’t completely clear.
However, if Morelos does indeed stay then seeing the Rangers captain walk away could be bad news for him.
After all, no player has been involved in more goals with the striker since he joined the Gers – 24. Behind Tavernier when it comes to the forward’s time in Glasgow is Ryan Kent. Their involvement together has been just nine strikes in comparison.
The weight of influence Tavernier has over Morelos’ game is rather incredible. The Englishman has laid on an impressive 17 assists for Rangers’ star man and they’ve racked up 76 wins in that time.
When both have been on the pitch, Steven Gerrard’s go-to striker in a crisis has racked up a colossal 72 goals. The man so often charged with delivering the ball into the box, meanwhile, has 46 assists.
When it comes to understanding each other’s games, they are like two peas in a pod. Tavernier picks out Morelos and he so often finds the back of the net.
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It’s no surprise, therefore, that the Colombia international’s poor form – just one goal all calendar year – has coincided with Tavernier’s wretched run.
The skipper leaving would undoubtedly be bad news for Morelos.
Meanwhile, Rangers already have their Gilmour REPLACEMENT in the palm of their hands…