Rangers have been given the green light to re-sign Steven Davis on a free transfer next month, according to the Scottish Sun.
The newspaper claim the Northern Ireland international, 33, is free to speak to potential suitors on New Year’s Day and Southampton are willing to let him leave for nothing in January “as a thank you” for his service even though his contract runs until the end of the season.
The Scottish Sun report that manager Steven Gerrard is convinced Davis can bring greater creativity and inventiveness to the centre of the Rangers midfield and Davis is keen on a return to the club where he won three SPL titles.
Good move for Rangers?
Yes, definitely. Davis has plenty of miles on the clock, but he is too good an opportunity to miss in the mid-season window. He would be a brilliant January window signing even though he turns 34 on the day it opens. Capped 105 times by Northern Ireland, he is out of contract next summer when he will have to accept a considerable cut on a Saints deal which Spotrac report is worth £60,000-a-week, or £3.1million-a-year. For Rangers, who initially paid £3.4million for him in 2008 before being forced into a sale following liquidation in 2012, Davis would provide class and composure. He has energy to burn and the technical ability and inventiveness to create and score goals from the centre of the pitch, something that Gerrard doesn’t really have in his current squad.
This Is Futbol rating 8/10
Likely to happen?
Davis will have to take a wage cut, but will he be willing to go down to around £25,000-a-week, the deal Scott Arfield was given when he arrived on a free from Burnley over the summer? If he is, this is a deal that could go through early in the January window, although much will also depend upon the competition for his signature.
This Is Futbol rating 6/10