BREAKING NEWS:Rangers could sign James Tavernier’s protege for just £1m as target scores free-kick stunner

Rangers could sign James Tavernier’s protege for just £1m as target scores free-kick stunner
Tue 18 February 2025 19:00
Dan Owen
Rangers’ defenders appear to have picked up a happy habit for contributing at the other end of the pitch of late.

Robin Propper capped his finest Rangers performance against Celtic with the second goal in that thumping 3-0 win the day after New Year. Clinton Nsiala crossed for Leon Balogun to head home as Philippe Clement’s side cruised past Aberdeen later that same month.

Nsiala then opened his Rangers account against Fraserburgh in the Scottish Cup, Propper doubled his tally at Dundee United, and John Souttar marked his return to Premiership action in style during the 4-0 trouncing of Ross County.

In fact, even the central defenders linked with a move to Ibrox are getting in on the act these days.

According to reports, Rangers cast their eyes over Jamaican stopper Richard King during the January transfer window. Rangers News, meanwhile, learned that his current employers – Cavalier FC – were looking for a fee in the region of £1 million.

With the future of veteran Balogun uncertain and Propper yet to really impress on a consistent basis, there may be room in Glasgow for a defensive reinforcement or two over the summer.

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Photo by Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF
Photo by Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF
Richard King would be a typical Nils Koppen signing at Rangers
King’s price-tag, age and profile puts the talented 23-year-old very much at the heart of Nils Koppen’s Venn diagram; the Gers technical director prioritising young, exciting talents with considerable re-sale value in line with Hamza Igamane, Jefte, Mohamed Diomande, Connor Barron and Lyall Cameron.

Given that Rangers tend to dominate possession domestically against opponents often set up in a low-block, their central defenders must be capable of breaking the lines and starting attacks from deep.

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Clinton Nsiala’s passing range – the former AC Milan youngster was likened to Virgil van Dijk recently by Ross McCausland – was a major reason why Rangers signed him last summer.

King also seems to possess a knack for pinpoint distribution.

As his Jamaica side took on the USA back in November – losing 4-2 in the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Nations League – King rose from the bench and immediately started showing what he’s all about.

One glorious Trivela pass to set a teammate through on goal was the highlight. But King, on other occasions, also showed both the confidence and the technical qualities to cheekily chip a ball over a nearby defender in order to get himself out of a bind. He also delivered a couple of eye-catching crossfield balls, and even drifted out wide onto the touchline from centre-half to give himself greater angles for progression.

“You can see there is a talent,” Jamaican football expert Rayon Nelson said last year. “He doesn’t look like a player who will slide in and be reckless. He’s a talent. Richard King plays football in a composed manner.

“Richard King looks like he can hit a different level. Ball control, making the simple passes, getting out of some tight spots, I think he has the potential to do so.

“Yes, there are some areas of his game that need to be developed. Let’s say, confidence and so forth. But I don’t see him as a player who can always be average. I see him as a player who can hit a different level.”

King scores James Tavernier-esque free-kick in Cavalier FC win
Developing a habit for headline-grabbing strikes will certainly do King’s growing reputation on both sides of the Atlantic no harm. The 20-cap international scored his third goal of the Jamaican Premier League season over the weekend, and in some style too.

From around 25 yards out, King whipped a sumptuous free-kick around the wall and into the top corner to put the icing on a 3-0 victory over Molynes United.
Perhaps, if Rangers step up their interest in the coming months, Richard King won’t just be challenging Souttar and Nsiala for a place in Clement’s XI.

He may also give James Tavernier – the club’s long-serving set-piece specialist – a run for his money in the dead-ball department.