Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has told Fabio Cardoso and Eduardo Herrera that they will have to find new clubs this summer as he does not see a role for him in his first team plans.
Cardoso, 24, and Herrera, 29, were signed up by Pedro Caixinha for a combined value of £2.8million last summer, but both of the senior duo have struggled to get regular game time at Ibrox ever since the Portuguese boss was sacked.
And now after a bout of showdown talks with the pair, Gerrard has confirmed that he has instructed them to find new clubs because their time at Ibrox is over.
“I have had a conversation with both of them before we came and I told them that their game time would be very limited,” said Gerrard, as quoted by the Daily Record in their live transfer blog on Wednesday [08:26am]
“I had to have honest conversations with them and the idea I have is to always be respectful to players and give as much time as possible during the window where they can find different opportunities.
“That is the type of manager I want to be, I want to look people in the eye and say ‘look, I don’t see a future for you, it is better if you speak to your representatives and find a team where you will play’.”
OPINION
It’s not much of a surprise that Gerrard is willing to offload the pair. Between them last season they made just nine starts in the Scottish Premiership as they were clearly not fancied by Graeme Murty after Caixinha had been sacked. Both of them can be praised for their professionalism though. Not once had they come out and made it clear that they were unhappy with their lack of playing time at Ibrox and both of them were always willing to interact with fans on social media. It’ll be the biggest shame to see Cardoso go. He was not really given a fair crack and his serious facial injury against Motherwell in October appeared to have had a big impact on his game-time. He’s only 24 so could still make a decent career for himself. It’s just not going to happen at Ibrox for him though. Herrera meanwhile has been linked with returning to Mexico, where he will hope that he hasn’t lost his touch in front of goal.