OPINION
Kris Boyd is spot on when he details why the Gers should do all they can to keep hold of full-back James Tavernier this summer.
The 27-year-old has been linked with a move to the Premier League with Aston Villa [Daily Mail], but speaking on Sky Sports’ Transfer Talk podcast, the former Rangers striker said that Rangers would miss his creativity.
“His record from the penalty spot was unbelievable last season,” the 35-year-old said. “He brings so much more to the Rangers team going forward. He’s their outlet – he creates so many opportunities.
“We’re all caught up in this modern day full-back. When you see his stats from last year in terms of crosses and opportunities created, his goals – I know a lot of them came from the penalty spot but you still need someone to stand up there and take them.”
Boyd has hit the nail on the head with these comments. Tavernier is one of the first names on the team sheet for Steven Gerrard’s side, simply because of how effective he is going forward.
The full-back scored 17 goals and assisted 20 others for the Gers last season, and those numbers are absolutely incredible for a full-back.
Yes, nine of the goals scored by Tavernier were from the penalty spot, but that doesn’t diminish his record one bit. In fact, it adds to it. The fact that he is the designated penalty taker for the club is a big responsibility and he bears it magnificently.
Take away Tavernier’s penalty kicks – bearing in mind that he had 10 such goalscoring attempts and only missed one – and the fact remains that the Englishman scored eight goals from open play. From full-back, that is still remarkable.
The player’s ability to assist hasn’t been mentioned yet, and it probably should be. Getting 20 assists is quite incredible, and you cannot take any away for being so-called ‘easy contributions’ like you can with his penalties.
Overall, it all points to the fact that it would be a hammer blow of seismic proportions if Rangers were to lose Tavernier this summer. There is no way – other than for top money – that Gerrard should be thinking about letting him go.
He is too important to all that is good about this Rangers team and the team would notice a distinct lack of something – of timely goals and contributions – if he was to leave.