Rangers ‘close’ to Giovanni Van Bronckhorst announcement after Steven Gerrard exit

Rangers fans gather outside Ibrox

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Former Barcelona defender Giovanni van Bronckhorst is ‘close’ to becoming the new manager of Rangers, according to reports. The Dutchman met with officials of the reiging Scottish champions, who are believed to be keen on the prospect of the former Feyenoord manager replacing Steven Gerrard at Ibrox.

The Gers’ season took a dramatic turn after Gerrard departed Glasgow to take over the reins at Aston Villa.

He was swiftly appointed by the Clarets a few days after they relieved previous manager Dean Smith from his services, following a fifth consecutive Premier League loss.

However, Rangers were forced to draft up a list of managers to replace the former Liverpool captain, who won their first Scottish League title in ten years; breaking the dominance of Celtic in the process.

But it appears their search for a manager is about to come to an end, as Sky Sports News claims van Bronckhorst is on the brink of being named as the new manager of Rangers.

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It is believed sporting director Ross Wilson has concluded the 46-year-old was the best candidate for the position.

A thorough process led by Wilson was undertaken by the 55-time Scottish Champions, who had a plethora of strong candidates on their shortlist.

But the Dutchman, who spent three seasons at the Ibrox as a player between 1998 and 2001, has always appeared to be the favourite.

He was recently pictured in London after holding positive talks with the Rangers board, before he flew back to Holland the following evening.

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If he was to be afforded the position, it is believed his first match could be their crucial home match against Sparta Prague in the Europa League.

David McCallum, Brian Gilmour, Jermain Defoe, and Colin Stewart are currently deputising in the place of the next manager.

It is likely they will lead the team for their Scottish League Cup semi-final against Hibernian while the finer details of Bronckhorst’s reign are decided.

He would inherit a side currently on course to win their second consecutive title. 

Before he departed the Ibrox, Gerrard managed to amass a very healthy gap between themselves and fierce rivals Celtic.

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Ange Postecoglou’s side are still paying for their poor start to the season, and currently trail the Blues by four points.

And Van Bronckhorst will also take over a side who are in a very strong position to progress into the knockout stages of the Europe League.

Rangers are currently in third place in Group A, however, victory against Sparta Prague in their next match would see them leapfrog the Czech side into second place.

Van Bronckhorst has been a free agent since he departed Chinese Super League side Guangzhou City after eleven months in charge in December 2020.

Before his move to the Far East, he enjoyed spell as manager of Feyenoord, where he won the Eredivisie, two Dutch Cups, and two Dutch Super Cups during an impressive four year spell.

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