The last two summers have seen several of Rangers’ most experienced players leave Ibrox.
Only few would’ve predicted that so many of them would head to Turkey.
Ryan Kent – who cost Rangers £7m when they signed the winger from Liverpool permanently in 2019 – kicked off the trend at the end of the season before last.
Moving to Istanbul giants Fenerbahce at the end of his Ibrox contract in 2023, it’s not exactly going to plan for Kent under the Turkish club’s new manager Jose Mourinho.
Experienced Rangers campaigners Borna Barisic and John Lundstram then followed suit, only the ex-Ibrox pair moved to Black Sea outfit Trabzonspor this summer.
Now, after Rangers knocked back a bid from Trabzonspor for captain James Tavernier, yet another famous name from the Gerrard-era team has agreed a deal in Turkey.
Ryan Jack makes debut in Turkey
Whilst it’s no secret Ryan Jack was preparing a switch to Turkey, we might’ve expected an official announcement before we saw the ex-Rangers midfielder make his debut.
Amid swirling reports surrounding an offer from Turkish second tier side Erokspor, Jacko came off the bench to make his debut for the club over the weekend.
A post on his Instagram stories pretty much alerted the Rangers support, with Ryan Jack getting the final half hour in Erokspor’s 2-1 league win over Igdir.
Picking up a yellow card for his troubles, it appears Jack has started a new chapter in his career in Turkey alongside several of his former Ibrox teammates.
Let’s hope it works out for the midfielder, who spent seven seasons at Rangers and, had it not been for injuries, might’ve ended his Ibrox career very differently indeed.
Injury-prone ex-Rangers star linked to Super Lig
Rangers released five players who made around 750 appearances for the club at the beginning of the summer, with Jacko making 210 of them.
But the reality is Ryan Jack might’ve made substantially more and had a much bigger impact at Ibrox had it not been for a recurring calf problem.
After taking huge strides in his development under Steven Gerrard, recurring injury problems and trying to juggle both Rangers and Scotland duties had a grave impact on the 32-year-old’s final few seasons in Glasgow.
There was a moment when Jack was on course to be a bonafide starter for club and country but every time the midfielder had begun to hit form, disaster would strike.
Injuries have defined the last few seasons at Rangers and going by the structural change initiated by Philippe Clement this summer, it appears the system at Ibrox certainly didn’t help Jack or any of his affected teammates.
Jack wasn’t the only injury-prone star to be released at the end of their contract either.
The Gers also let go of Jamaican international striker Kemar Roofe, who at the time of writing remains without a club.
There has been scant reporting around what the 31-year-old is up to at the moment but, you guessed it, Roofe has also been linked with a move to Turkey.
With Sivasspor the side most recently mentioned, if Roofe is anything like Jacko he might well keep any interest under wraps until the striker winds up back on the park!
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