Rangers captain James Tavernier has been vital to the Scottish club’s success in recent years but their former manager Steven Gerrard is set to make a move for him.

Gerrard is currently manager of Saudi club Al-Ettifaq, where he has already signed some familiar names such as Jordan Henderson (who left in January), Georginio Wijnaldum and Demarai Gray.

The former Liverpool midfielder is a huge admirer of Tavernier and wants to make him his next big signing.

According to Slaati, Gerrard is ‘ready to launch an offer’ to bring the talented right-back to Saudi Arabia this summer.

Gerrard had ‘demanded’ that El-Ettifaq provide the funds required to sign Tavernier and it seems the club has now green-lit the deal.

This is despite them enduring a poor season that has seen the team languishing in seventh place in the table, with various outlets claiming that they have even considered sacking the manager.

Gerrard will hope that Tavernier agrees to join El-Ettifaq and he can help turn the Saudi side’s form around.

Tavernier would be a huge loss for Rangers

Rangers fans will no doubt be incredibly frustrated should Tavernier ditch Ibrox for Saudi due to Gerrard’s pending ‘offer.’

The defender signed for the Glasgow club back in 2015 and as mentioned, has been one of if not the most important player for them in recent years.

Tavernier has made 454 appearances in total for Rangers, scoring 125 goals and lifting an impressive five major trophies in the process.

Despite the 32-year-old being under contract until 2026, it was always a possibility that various Saudi clubs would make offers for him, as TEAMtalk exclusively revealed in January.

The one positive for Rangers is that they should receive a relatively high transfer fee from El-Ettifaq.

Tavernier’s potential departure would leave a big void in the Rangers squad and force Phillipe Clement into signing a replacement, with the only other senior right-back in the squad being Chelsea loanee Dujon Sterling.

The Saudi Pro League have several big-name targets on their shortlist for the summer and another bog window is expected for them.

They are determined to bring Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah to the Gulf state, while Man City icon Kevin de Bruyne could also make the switch.

It will be interesting to see Gerrard and El-Ettifaq are able to convince Tavernier to leave Rangers in the coming months.