Rangers Opinion: Gers should look at Dylan McGeouch as a utility squad depth player
According to The Sun, Sunderland midfielder Dylan McGeouch is eyeing a return to his homeland, with Rangers and Aberdeen interested in securing the services of the 26-year-old on a free transfer.
The Sun also understands that the 2-cap Scottish international has offers from Championship clubs QPR, Brentford and Blackburn Rovers should he choose to continue plying his trade in English football.
McGeouch only penned a one-year contract at the Stadium of Light when he joined Sunderland last summer and it is still unclear whether the Black Cats are going to offer him fresh terms after missing out on promotion to the Championship.
The 26-year-old didn’t feature in Jack Ross’ 18-man squad that lost the League One play-off final against Charlton Athletic, meaning that his future at the club is far from settled. As things stand, both Rangers and Aberdeen will be able to snap the midfielder up for absolutely nothing given that he is out of contract at the Stadium of Light.
A youth product of Celtic, McGeouch left Parkhead to continue his development at Rangers but he returned to his boyhood club after Neil Lennon, then on his first stint as the Celtic manager, personally visited his home and persuaded him to come back.
The midfielder spent four seasons at Celtic and made a total of 27 appearances, spending time on loan at Coventry City in English League One and Hibernian in the Scottish Championship.
McGeouch joined Hibernian on a permanent deal in 2015 and played a key role in the club’s promotion-winning campaign in the 2016-17 season. The 26-year-old earned his first senior international call-up as a result of his fine performances in the Scottish Premiership in the 2017-18 season.
The Scotsman made 22 appearances for Sunderland in the third-tier this season but failed to find the net even once. He fell out-of-favour towards the end of the campaign and it is highly unlikely that the Black Cats are going to offer him a new deal, meaning that a return to his homeland would help him restart his career.
To put things into perspective, Dylan McGeouch doesn’t have an eye-catching profile for a player of his age but Rangers can certainly afford to look at him as someone who could possibly add a little bit more depth to their squad.
The 26-year-old is known as a tough-tackling and all-action central midfielder, although he has also been used as a wide midfielder on either side, as well as in a more attacking role further up the pitch. A neat passer of the ball with a good understanding of the game, McGeouch knows how to break up the play and use possession well, meaning that Gerrard can look at him as cover and competition for the likes of Steven Davis, Scott Arfield, Glen Kamara and Ryan Jack.
There is nothing eye-watering when it comes to the Scotsman’s attributes but he can be a good utility player at Ibrox given his experience and understanding of the Scottish game. Agreed, he won’t add anything extra to what Rangers already have but the prospect of adding a bit more depth to the squad for free should appeal to the Gers.
Moreover, the acquisition of an ex-Celtic player should create plenty of noise amongst the fans at Ibrox and that is one of the key reasons why Rangers should consider moving for the 26-year-old.
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The Gers need more quality in their ranks to challenge Celtic for the Scottish Premiership crown next season, and while McGeouch hardly fits the bill in that aspect, the midfielder might just reduce the workload on the first-team stars to some extent.
