Rangers Want To Sign This 24-Year-Old Right-Back: Is He The Right Man?

Rangers Want To Sign This 24-Year-Old Right-Back: Is He The Right Man? The right-back situation at Rangers has gone from a looming headache to an immediate, flashing red crisis. James Tavernier’s historic, goal-laden tenure in Govan is drawing to a close. Behind the departing skipper, the depth chart looks incredibly bare. Max Aarons flattered to deceive during his season-long loan from Bournemouth, managing a paltry eight league starts before sliding entirely out of the picture behind the likes of Dujon Sterling and youth prospects Jayden Meghoma and Tuur Rommens. Aarons is now back on the south coast. The void he leaves behind is massive. Rangers are finally waking up to the reality that they cannot afford to stand still According to Belgian outlet Het Nieuwsblad , via Daily Record , the Ibrox recruitment team has registered concrete interest in Bryan Reynolds. The 24-year-old American international is currently on the books at Belgian Pro League side Westerlo, who appear perfectly willing to do business this summer. He won’t come entirely cheap. Westerlo are holding out for a few million Euros for a player whose contract runs until June 2027, but the template for negotiation is already sitting in a drawer at Ibrox. Rangers raided the exact same club in January to secure Rommens. The lines of communication are wide open. The Numbers and the Physical Profile SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 12: Bryan Reynolds #5 of the United States heads the ball during the first half of the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup Semifinals against Panama at Snapdragon Stadium on July 12, 2023 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Valued at roughly €3.5 million on Transfermarkt, Reynolds represents an intriguing, albeit unflashy, profile. He is a modern full-back wrapped in an old-school athletic frame. The former FC Dallas academy graduate possesses the raw physical presence to cope with the bruising reality of the Scottish Premiership. He is quick. He presses aggressively. Since escaping a tough spell at AS Roma in 2022, which included a brief loan stop at Kortrijk, Reynolds has racked up 108 appearances for Westerlo. Last term, he turned up 38 times across all competitions, chipping in with two goals and four assists. It is dependable, consistent output. It isn’t the type of eye-catching return that sends social media into a frenzy, but it’s exactly the kind of robust reliability Rangers desperately lack right now. The alternative doing the rounds is a romantic return for Nathan Patterson. The Scotland international is rotting on the bench at Everton, having started just three Premier League games all season. A return north makes sense on paper, but a player who once commanded an £11 million fee, even near the end of his contract, comes with baggage, high wage demands, and a complete lack of match sharpness. Reynolds, by contrast, is fully fit and battle-hardened. Landing the American won’t be a free run. His career trajectory so far reads like a young player constantly on the verge of a breakthrough without ever quite sticking the landing. Whether Glasgow holds more appeal than a grind in the English second tier is the puzzle the Rangers board must solve. Money speaks, obviously. But so does European football. If the newly structured recruitment team can sell the project properly, Reynolds gets a platform to finally anchor his career at a massive club under genuine pressure to win trophies. Westerlo know they are reaching the point of maximum valuation for the defender. A deal in the low millions makes total sense for a player who solves a critical structural flaw in this Rangers squad.