Barry Douglas (Getty Images)
In an interview with Football Insider (h/t Edinburgh News), Rangers have been tipped to sign Leeds United defender Barry Douglas by former star Alan Hutton.
Having come through the youth ranks at Livingston FC, Douglas joined Queen’s Park in 2006 and spent four years at the club, before joining Dundee FC in 2010. In three years at the club, he made 76 appearances before joining Polish outfit Lech Poznan. He enjoyed a successful two-and-a-half-year stint at the club and left in January 2016, joining Turkish club Konyaspor.
Eighteen months later, the left-back moved to England, signing for Wolves. He enjoyed a stellar season with the Midlands club, helping them to promotion to the Premier League in 2018. Having done that, he signed for Leeds United in the summer and has made 39 appearances for the club so far, registering 5 assists.
Rangers have once again fallen short of arch-rivals Celtic in the race for the Scottish Premiership title. Having maintained pressure on the Hoops for the first half of the season, the Gers endured a dip in form in the latter stages, allowing Celtic to open up a 13-point gap at the top of the table.
Furthermore, Steven Gerrard’s side also lost to their rivals in the finals of the Scottish League Cup and have also been ousted from the Scottish FA Cup as well. They are hanging by a thread in the UEFA Europa League. A season that started on a promising note is set to end without any trophy once again.
So it is imperative for Gerrard & co. to strengthen the Rangers squad ahead of next season and attempt to topple their arch-rivals from the top. One area where they need urgent reinforcements is the left-back slot.
Borna Barisic has been the undisputed first-choice in the position for the Gers this season. But in terms of backup, there is little quality available at Gerrard’s disposal. Andy Halliday and Jon Flanagan, both of whom have been used as auxiliary left-backs this season, are out of contract in the summer.
Hence, bringing in a new left-back would be a wise move for the Light Blues in the next transfer window. Douglas, to that end, would be an option worth looking at for the Scottish giants.
The Scotsman may not have been a regular for Leeds this season but is vastly experienced. He has accumulated 286 career appearances till date, in which he has scored 15 goals and assisted 63 more.
Douglas’ experience would be worth its weight in gold for Rangers as they attempt to dislodge Celtic from their perch. Furthermore, he would be adding some much-needed quality and depth on the left side of the defence for Rangers.
At 30, Douglas might not have a lot of years left in his career at the top level. But his experience would be valuable for Steven Gerrard’s Rangers side. In addition, his signing would help the former Liverpool midfielder add quality and depth to the left-back department.
