Steven Gerrard 'preparing' ambitious double Rangers swoop for Al-Ettifaq

Steven Gerrard is keen to sign Rangers pair James Tavernier and Connor Goldson for Al-Ettifaq this summer.

The former Gers boss is ‘preparing’ to launch a swoop for the pair in the upcoming transfer window, according to a report by Al-Riyadiya and has ‘stepped up’ his pursuit.

Gerrard has already lured Jack Hendry, Moussa Dembele, Demarai Gray, Georginio Wijnaldum and Karl Toko Ekambi to Saudi Arabia since moving over there last year.

He is now reportedly ready to try and tempt Tavernier into a switch to the Middle East.

The 32-year-old, who was born in Bradford, has been on the books at Ibrox since 2015 and has been a great servant to the club.

He has made 460 appearances for the Glasgow giants in all competitions to date and has scored 125 goals, 24 of which came last term.

Prior to his move up to Scotland, he rose up through the ranks at Newcastle United and went on to play 10 times for their first-team, as well as having loan spells away at Gateshead, Carlisle United, Sheffield Wednesday, MK Dons, Shrewsbury Town and Rotherham United before a brief permanent stint at Wigan Athletic.

As for Goldson, Rangers snapped him up back in 2018 and he has made 309 outings.

He is a product of the Shrewsbury academy and broke into their senior team as a youngster before Brighton and Hove Albion landed him in 2015.

The centre-back had three years with the Seagulls and helped them gain promotion to the Premier League during his days at the AMEX Stadium.

Both Tavernier and Goldson were trusted players under Gerrard at Rangers and have emerged on his radar at Al-Ettifaq.

It remains to be seen whether they will move on and their futures probably depend on how much money could potentially be on the table for them.

Gerrard has revealed that finances were not the sole reason why he decided to make the move to Saudi Arabia 12 months ago. He has recently said: “I was financially secure a long time ago. So, I would not come to Saudi for money. Was it part of it? Yes. Was it the only thing that made me do it? One million per cent, no.

“Trust me, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t taking it seriously. I take football seriously. Always have. And at the same time I will never disrespect a person or an organisation by making a decision when I am not ready.”

“I had been in Liverpool for a long time. I wanted a bit of a change.

“I want to get to the end of my career and think ‘I tried different things. I didn’t just go for safety. I didn’t stay in my comfort zone.’ I want to make decisions outside the box. I want to challenge myself. Same with my children.”

If Rangers were to sell the duo, they would lose a lot of experience but their exits would free up space and funds in their ranks to bring in younger players.