Why Rangers must allow Lee Wallace to exit in January
As per a report from The Scottish Sun, former Rangers captain Lee Wallace has emerged as a January transfer target for EFL Championship outfit Wigan Athletic.
Wigan have already raided Rangers once this season, having signed attacking midfielder Josh Windass in the summer. The Latics manager Paul Cook enjoys a good relationship with Gers’ boss Steven Gerrard and is hoping to convince him to sell the 31-year-old defender in a cut-price deal in the winter transfer window (h/t The Scottish Sun).
Wallace joined the Glasgow outfit from fellow Premiership club Heart of Midlothian FC back in the summer of 2011 and has gone on to rack up a total of 260 appearances in the seven years, scoring 25 goals and setting up 58 more in the process.
He was awarded the club captaincy in 2015 by then manager Mark Warburton and in his first season as skipper, the Scotsman led the Gers to the Scottish Championship title, earning promotion back to the Premiership.
The 2017/18 campaign turned out to be a disappointing one for the player, as he suffered a double hernia injury early in the season.
However, things worsened for Wallace when he was suspended by the club and handed a heavy fine, following an altercation with Gerrard’s predecessor Graeme Murty earlier this year. He finished the season with just seven appearances to his name.
Under Gerrard, the 31-year-old was stripped of the captaincy, with James Tavernier being handed the armband for the 2018/19 season. So far, Wallace has taken the field just once for a minute as a substitute in the 3-3 draw against Motherwell back in August this term. In total, the Scottish full-back has made the matchday squad on just four occasions, clearly suggesting that he doesn’t feature in the plans of the manager going forward.
With Croatian left-back Borna Barisic impressing in his debut campaign and former Liverpool man Jon Flanagan providing cover in the position, Gerrard hasn’t needed Wallace’s services. With the talented Myles Beerman also an option after his loan spell at Maltese outfit Birkirkara, there should be enough cover in the left-back spot for the Light Blues.
Wallace is in the final year of his contract with Rangers. He has been an excellent servant for the club over the years but it is clear that he is surplus to requirements at the moment. And selling him in January would allow the Gers to recoup some transfer fee, rather than losing him on a free at the end of the season. And hence, the club must not reject any offer that comes in for the Scotsman from Wigan.
