Rangers Make Call On Belgian Left-Back: Is Keeping Him The Right Move?

Rangers Make Call On Belgian Left-Back: Is Keeping Him The Right Move? Rangers enter the international break second in the Scottish Premiership, four points behind Celtic with a game in hand. Saturday’s comfortable 2-0 win at St Mirren stretched Derek McInnes’ unbeaten domestic run to 12 matches, with Ivor Pandur keeping another clean sheet and Ryan Naderi reaching nine goals and five assists. That form contrasts sharply with August’s European qualifying exits. A groin strain in the 2-1 defeat to Hibernian on August 9 cost McInnes his first-choice left-back, and he admitted Rangers were “playing with fire” on depth. Six days later James Penrice arrived from AEK Athens on a season-long loan with an option to buy. The 27-year-old, a boyhood fan and Greek champion last season, scored on his debut, earned a first Scotland call-up and even partnered Nicolas Raskin in midfield in the League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen. That game on October 31 brought the original left-back back into the side. Dan Neil replaced him after 65 minutes, Penrice dropped into his usual position, and his low cross set up Naderi’s 83rd-minute winner, which booked a December 13 final. Penrice organises team-mates, crosses cleanly and drifts infield, and McInnes has said he, the club and the player all want a permanent deal. Rangers dismiss talk of a sale Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke reports that Rangers have no intention of selling Tuur Rommens, despite the 23-year-old starting only two Premiership games this season. Ibrox expects Penrice’s loan to become permanent, yet McInnes still sees the former Westerlo player as a long-term part of the project and expects him to compete for the left-back place once fully fit. Rommens is 6ft 1in tall, progresses the ball well from the left and scored the winner at St Mirren in March. Questions over his pace and defensive intensity followed his signing, and those matter more in a side chasing Celtic. Should Rangers keep hold of Tuur Rommens? GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – MAY 13: Tuur Rommens of Rangers warms up prior to the William Hill Premiership match between Rangers and Hibernian at Ibrox Stadium on May 13, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images) Yes, and not as a bench option. Penrice looks a sensible permanent signing, but he remains on loan until Rangers trigger the option, and McInnes already uses him in midfield. That needs an established left-back behind him, and Rommens has a contract to 2029. Selling would leave Rangers one injury from another scramble during a League Cup final, Scottish Cup run and title race. McInnes should use him against deep defences, where width and progression matter. Rangers paid a reported £3m for a left-back Club Brugge noticed within months; selling him before a full season of starts would waste that recruitment.