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The January transfer window is due to open for business next week and there are some big calls that will have to be made by Danny Rohl and the board at Glasgow Rangers.

Whilst there will be a lot of attention on who they bring in to bolster the squad, as new signings are always exciting, there should also be some focus on who they need to move on from the club.

One of the toughest parts of squad building is knowing when the right time to move a player on is. The Light Blues have suffered because they have failed to time departures right in the past, such as was the case with Borna Barisic.

Why Rangers let Borna Barisic go too late

The Croatia international spent six years at Ibrox as a left-back for the likes of Steven Gerrard, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale, and Philippe Clement, making 236 appearances in all competitions, per Transfermarkt.

In his last season with the Gers, though, the left-footed star’s performances regressed, and he was not the same player he once was at Ibrox.

After recording nine assists in 30 Scottish Premiership matches in the 2022/23 campaign, the summer of 2023 may have been the perfect time for the club to cash in on Barisic, as his contract only had 12 months left to run at that point.

Barisic (Premiership)

22/23

23/24

Appearances

30

20

Key passes per game

2.3

1.7

Big chances created

12

1

Assists

9

3

Tackles + interceptions per game

2.8

2.1

Ground duel success rate

63%

61%

Dribbled past per game

0.2x

0.3x

Stats via Sofascore

Instead, they kept hold of the Croatian defender and, as you can see in the statistics above, his performances in and out of possession regressed in the 2023/24 campaign.

Barisic then left on a free transfer at the end of the season, as Clement opted to go in a new direction at left-back, and Rangers may have ended up regretting not letting go of him sooner.

The current Rangers star who is in danger of becoming the new Barisic

There is now a current Light Blues player who is in danger of becoming the new version of Barisic at Ibrox, as they have regressed on the pitch.

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In the summer transfer window, Rangers were reportedly interested in a deal to sign Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Pierce Charles, but they ended the window without adding a new goalkeeper to Russell Martin’s ranks.

That is a decision that they may now regret because first-choice goalkeeper Jack Butland has been far too error-prone in the 2025/26 campaign, and has regressed with each passing season in Glasgow.

The English shot-stopper was somehow beaten at his near post by Lawrence Shankland in the 2-1 loss to Hearts on Sunday, and it was his seventh error leading to a shot or goal already this season, per Sofascore.

After that loss, journalist Jonny McFarlane posted that “Butland, no matter how well he’s playing, will always make three or four howlers a season”, which has, unfortunately, been true since the start of the 2024/25 campaign.

Jack Butland’s Rangers regression

Season

Error led to shot

Error led to goal

25/26 Premiership

3

2

25/26 Europa League

1

1

24/25 Premiership

2

2

24/25 Europa League

0

1

23/24 Premiership

1

0

23/24 Europa League

0

0

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the former England international made five errors leading to shots or goals in the Scottish Premiership and Europa League combined last term, which was four more than his first season at the club.

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That regression in his consistency clearly sounded some alarm bells inside Ibrox because they were then interested in a deal to sign Charles from Sheffield Wednesday, possibly to replace Butland.

However, Rangers opted to back their man by avoiding any new goalkeeper signings, and they have been punished for that support, as he has already made more errors than he did in the entirety of last season.

As was the case with Barisic, it seems like the Light Blues have held on to Butland a season too long, and there could be a decision for Rohl to make in January, as a new goalkeeper to challenge the Englishman could be needed.

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Andy Kirsten has arrived in Nairobi to take up his role as Kenya’s national coach and said his main job is to ensure that the side qualify for the 2011 World Cup.”I have been contracted for a year and my duty is to ensure Kenya qualifies,” Kirsten told the Standard. “I first want to settle for the next six weeks, during which I will be drafting my strategy for the team before we bounce to serious business.”Kirsten has less than a year before the World Cup Qualifiers in the UAE to make his mark, but one of the problems he faces is a lack of high-profile matches. Kenya are not scheduled to play any Full Member countries between now and then, although they have a lengthy European tour that takes in Denmark, England and then Associate Twenty20, Intercontinental Cup and ODIs in Ireland.Kirsten, 44, who has been coaching in his native South Africa, is no stranger to the Kenyan set-up as he assisted Sandeep Patil during the 2003 World Cup. “Kenya players are very talented and I have been following the team’s prowess keenly since I left because I have an interest with the team and a close relationships with most of the players. I believe they deserve Test status and that is where we are heading, I’m sure I will enjoy working with the boys.”

Tall order: Stuart Broad has Dwayne Bravo caught behind at Lord’s on Sunday © Getty Images

Stuart Broad wants to be part of England’s next fearsome pace attack after his impressive display in the first one-day international against West Indies. Broad’s 3 for 20 was instrumental in England’s 79-run win, but it was the combination formed alongside James Anderson and Liam Plunkett which really stood out.When England won the Ashes in 2005 they had a powerhouse fast-bowling attack of Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones. However, those four haven’t taken the field together since the victory at Trent Bridge that summer and the odds on it reforming are slim. Flintoff is recovering from further ankle surgery and there is still no return in sight for Jones after more knee problems.England have found it difficult to replicate their success since the attack started to fragment with a host of bowlers being handed chances. Broad has always been highly rated around the England set-up, making his debut against Pakistan at the end of last season, and spent the winter developing at the Academy before a late call to join the World Cup squad in West Indies.”In time, I think we should be able to form a similar unit to the one that England had in 2005,” said Broad after England had moved to Edgbaston to prepare for Wednesday’s second match. “Those guys like Harmy, Hoggy and Fred are still around and it is great learning from them, but we also want to push them.”The good thing about England at the moment is that there are a lot of guys capable of playing international cricket and you really need that depth if you’re to be successful. International cricket and Test cricket in particular is hard and you are going to get injuries but, if you’ve got a strong pool of players to pick from who can all come in and do a job, well that can only be a good thing for English cricket.”But for an untimely knee injury at the start of the current season, Broad could have made his Test debut against West Indies, especially when Hoggard pulled up after Lord’s. Ryan Sidebottom took his chance with both hands and Broad now wants to use this one-day series to make a similar statement.”Look at Ryan, who came in to the side and made the step up to become a regular,” he said. “He’s come in and put pressure on the bowlers in and around the team and I think that is a good thing.”We’ve got the makings of a young bowling unit coming together and we have to keep working hard and learning from the senior guys, but trying to put them under as much pressure as we can by taking wickets when we get our chances.”My outlook is that when you’re under pressure then that is when you play your best cricket. You’ve got no choice but to perform to keep your place and I find that brings out the best in me.”

ScorecardTrinidad and Tobago beat Nevis by 74 runs in the second semifinal of the Stanford 20/20 competition and will now play Guyana in the final on Sunday for the big prize. Kieron Pollard played a blistering hand, scoring 83 off just 38 balls, and was well supported by Daren Ganga, the captain, as T & T put a big score on the board and defended it with some ease.Stuart Williams, the former West Indian batsman and currently captain of Nevis, won the toss and chose to put T & T in, a decision that was to backfire spectacularly. Although Nevis managed to get rid of both openers with only 57 on the board, a third-wicket partnership of 114 between Pollard and Ganga (62*) ensured that T & T posted 210 from their 20 overs. Pollard with as many 7 sixes and surprisingly only 4 fours, scored at a strike-rate of over 200 and set up his team’s innings.When it was the turn of Nevis to bat they badly needed a solid, if not desperately quick, start, but they ended up with the opposite. Mervyn Dillon and Samuel Badree knocked the stuffing out of the top order, reducing Nevis first to 8 for 3 and then 37 for 5. This virtually ended the match as a contest, and only a fighting 65 from Joel Simmons, the wicketkeeper, pushed the score towards respectability.In the end Nevis were restricted to 136, 75 short of the target, and Dillon (3 for 30), Badree (2 for 14) and Pollard (2 for 19) shared the spoils. For Pollard, who earlier scored 83, this was a match to remember.

Close South Africa 155 for 0 (20.2 overs: Gibbs 97*, Smith 48*) beat Bangladesh 154 for 9 (50 overs: Ntini 3-28) by ten wickets
ScorecardA savage onslaught by Herschelle Gibbs guided South Africa to an embarrassingly one-sided ten-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second one-day international at a sun-drenched Willowmoore Park. Gibbs cracked an unbeaten 97 off just 66 balls as South Africa reached their target of 155 with almost 30 overs to spare.Gibbs began his innings looking for a record his fourth consecutive one-day century. In the end he fell one stroke short. Needing a four to reach his goal, and just one to win the match, he drove Alok Kapali straight but the ball was fielded ten yards in from the boundary. A second straight Man of the Match award was some consolation for Gibbs. Perhaps it was all for the best as it would have been a rather devalued record. Of his three previous centuries, two had come against one-day minnows – Kenya and Bangladesh.An early finish was almost guaranteed from the moment that Shaun Pollock won the toss and put Bangladesh in. Javed Omar and Hannan Sarkar followed a game plan which appeared to be based on survival rather than scoring runs, and to that extent they succeed. Sarkar finally looked to open up and immediately perished, edging Makhaya Ntini to Adam Boucher for 7 (26 for 1). Four balls later Al-Shahriar Rokon was clean bowled by Ntini for 0 and the innings was following a depressingly familiar pattern.Omar briefly threatened to play an innings of some substance after a shaky beginning in which he had looked extremely unhappy with the pace of Ntini. When he edged Lance Klusener to Boucher for 24 in the 21st over (46 for 3) the floodgates were opened. A spirited ninth-wicket stand of 37 between Tapash Baisya, and Monjural Islam only delayed the inevitable.The rare boundaries were cheered enthusiastically by the few hundred flag-waving Bangaladeshi supporters. When Tushar Imran cracked Allan Donald for successive fours they were close to ecstasy, but the pace and experience of South Africa’s fast bowlers left the batsmen outclassed.Once again, Bangladesh were woefully short of being able to compete with the big boys. Their bowling lacked control, their batting generally revolved around crease occuptation rather than run-scoring, and their fielding was poor. To give them as much experience of international cricket as they have had is admirable but they appear to have made little progress. This kind of display does little other than distort the international averages.

Mohammad Kaif: back in the squad

Mohammad Kaif has been recalled by the Indian selectors for the five-match one-day series in Pakistan, which starts on March 13. Ramesh Powar, the Mumbai offspinner, was called up for the first time, but surprisingly there was no place for Rohan Gavaskar, who made a reasonable start to his one-day career in the recent VB Series in Australia.After a four-hour meeting in Mumbai, the selectors eventually emerged to reveal the names of the 15-man party. The team for the Tests will be uinveiled on March 22.Powar, 25, replaces Anil Kumble, who has not fully recovered from a shoulder injury sustained in Australia. Ajit Agarkar, too, misses out after his shin injury was slow responding to treatment. But there is a return for Zaheer Khan, who missed the latter part of the Australian tour. Kulamani Parida and Sarandeep Singh were reportedly also considered for the spare spinner’s spot, but Powar’s superior batting – he has four first-class centuries under his belt – swung the issue.India one-day squad
Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly (capt), Rahul Dravid (vice-capt), Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Hemang Badani, Parthiv Patel (wk), Ramesh Powar, Irfan Pathan, Murali Kartik, L Balaji, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra.

The Somerset trio, Ian Blackwell, Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick and the rest of their England colleagues have now moved onto the next stage of their World Cup preparations.Over the weekend Ian Blackwell told me: "We are now in Port Elizabeth having just come to the end of a well deserved three day break in Sun City which was absolutely fantastic."For `Blackie’ who is a very capable and competitive golfer, Sun City with it’s well appointed golf courses was an ideal venue for a break. The young all rounder who has been one of the success stories of the England tour this winter continued: "We had two days golfing playing both courses, the Lost City and the Gary Player, where they play the Nedbank Two Million Dollar Challenge, and what fantastic courses they are. The Gary Player is ranked the third best course in the world and boy it was in good nick."He continued: "We picked two sides and played a Ryder Cup format competition. Our side lost 7 points to 3 although I did bring in 2 of the points playing really well. I shot a 90 on the Lost City course which wasn’t too bad in the circumstances. There is a crocodile pit on the side of the green by the thirteenth hole which was a bit scary, but thankfully I didn’t lose a ball in there."`Blackie’ went on: "I then shot an 85 on the Gary Player which I was over the moon with. The best thing was meeting Darren Clarke who played with Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff on one of the days. He shot a lazy 70 apparently."He continued: " We had three cracking days and we are now in Port Elizabeth where we are going to be based for a while. We play against Eastern Province on Tuesday in our first game, and their side will include James Bryant, one of Somerset’s new signings, which will be interesting. It will be good to meet him and also gauge how good he is. I’m sure our coach Kevin Shine will be after a report."Looking ahead to the World Cup `Blackie’ said: "Things are looking in good shape for the big tournament. We regroup now and will be practicing in Port Elizabeth ahead of our first game, which is not too far away now and I’m really looking forward to it."

Australian Southern Stars all-rounder Karen Rolton was presented yesterday with the Peden-Archdale Medal as the outstanding player in this year’s England v Australia women’s cricket series.Rolton was presented with the medallion by IWCC president Christine Brierley following the conclusion of the Second Test in the CricInfo Women’s Series at Headingley, won by Australia by nine wickets.On Saturday Rolton broke the world record for the highest individual score in women’s Test cricket, scoring 209 not out in the Australian first innings. Named as Australia’s player of the series in both the Tests and one-dayers against England, Rolton scored 176 runs at 59.33 in the limited-overs matches, and 216 at 216.00 in the Tests (having also made a duck in the first game at Shenley). She also took four inexpensive wickets in the one-day games.The Peden-Archdale Medal is named after the two captains in the first England versus Australia women’s Test series in 1934-35, namely Margaret Peden (Australia) and Betty Archdale (England). Inaugurated last year, it is given to the most outstanding player in a series (Test and/or one-day) between England and Australia.Rolton is the second winner of the Peden-Archdale Medal. The first, given following the 1999-2000 English tour of Australia, was Victorian fast bowler Charmaine Mason, who yesterday announced that she is retiring from international cricket.

Everton’s financial issues could act them to move smart in the summer transfer window, and it’s quite likely that unless a number of key players are sold to raise funds, free agents and loan moves will be targeted.

While Rafa Benitez will certainly not go down in Everton history as anything more than a disastrous appointment, his successor Frank Lampard may need to follow in his footsteps from the Spaniard’s dealings in last summer’s transfer window, and control the club’s finances well.

Signings like Andros Townsend and Demerai Gray may not have been the kind of marquee, electrifying signings that fans would have been hoping for before the start of this season, but they have both got excellent re-sell values that will bring in good profit for the club, should they depart.

One free agent that the club almost secured a number of years ago was Lukas Nmecha, who at the time was contemplating whether or not to renew his contract at Manchester City.

This was back in 2017, former Everton director of football Steve Walsh planning to complete the deal according to reports, via Sports Illustrated – and should he have succeeded in persuading the German striker to make the move across the North West to Goodison Park, the Toffees would have reaped the rewards – evident by his recent form with current club Wolfsburg.

After signing a new deal in 2018 with City, the striker joined the Bundesliga outfit at the start of this season for £7.2m, and his performances have led to his valuation increasing to £16.2m according to Transfermarkt.

Described as a “baller” by German journalist Jasmina Schweimler, the 23-year-old has featured in 18 German top-flight games this season, starting 11 of them, and has netted six goals so far while operating more as a wide-man, earning his first four caps with his country.

He has also netted two Champions League goals with Wolfsburg – proving that he can perform on the big stage, having already proved his ability at international level, having scored 12 goals for Germany’s U21s, also winning the U21 Top Scorer award at last summer’s UEFA European U21 Championship – helping his country to win the trophy.

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Among attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues and continental competitions, Nmecha ranks in the top 5% for goals per 90 (0.51), top 4% for aerials won per 90 (2.21) and top 18% for pressures in the attacking third per 90 (7.01) – proving that he is becoming a more “complete” forward as he has been previously described by former teammate and City captain Vincent Kompany.

In other news: “They’re looking at..” – Transfer insider drops big Everton claim, Lamps surely gutted

Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard will have the opportunity to fight for their England places from the start of the domestic season after being released to their counties for all the matches ahead of the first Test against New Zealand on May 15.Most of the players who have been involved throughout the winter are given some extra time off, although Ian Bell is available for Warwickshire’s first Championship match against Worcestershire on April 16.Kevin Pietersen won’t appear for Hampshire until the Friends Provident Trophy match against Somerset on May 2 while Paul Collingwood is also rested until that Bank Holiday weekend. Michael Vaughan has been made available for all Yorkshire’s first-class matches ahead of the first Test.Given that it is England’s one-day cricket that needs developing it is interesting that Bell and Alastair Cook have only been released for County Championship matches and not FP Trophy games. Tim Ambrose, Monty Panesar, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and James Anderson are all rested from the first round of Championship matches.Owais Shah, Andrew Strauss, Phil Mustard and Graeme Swann are also available to their counties from the start of the season.