As reported by The Daily Mail, Rangers are amongst the teams in discussions with free agent Ryan Tunnicliffe this summer. The former Fulham man was released by the Cottagers at the end of last season having spent the latter half on loan to relegated Championship side Wigan Athletic.
Pedro Caixinha has already made a heavy amount of signings this summer in positions all over the team but it seems as if he is in the market for another midfielder to strengthen his options in the middle of the park.
Resources are stretched at Ibrox right now and pursuing a free agent makes financial sense, especially so if they can bring a player of real quality in that can enhance the first team.
Whether Tunnicliffe can be that man remains to be seen but he doesn’t have an intriguing career history, from the youth ranks to last season.
These are the FOUR need-to-know details about this potential signing…
He was once Man United’s top midfield prospect, ahead of Paul Pogba
Ryan Tunnicliffe had a fantastic footballing education at Manchester United, spending his youth career there until 2014 when at the age of 21 he left to join Fulham. In fact, at one point, he was one of the highest-rated prospects coming through their academy, winning the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Award in 2010/11 ahead of the likes of Michael Keane, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard. That was the United U18s side that won the FA Youth Cup.
While obviously all three of those players have gone on to have brighter careers than Tunnicliffe, it is proof he has a natural ability about him that if nurtured properly could perhaps reach its potential finally. Former winners of that award include Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Marcus Rashford and Danny Welbeck.
Is the Scottish Premiership and Rangers the right place for him to showcase his skills and prove he still has a good career ahead of him after being released by Fulham?
His career at Fulham was hindered by the Magath debacle
It’s clear that things didn’t pan out at Fulham in the way Ryan Tunnicliffe would have liked. He joined the London side when they were still in the English Premier League, signing for his former youth coach at Manchester United Rene Meulensteen. However, he was unceremoniously replaced with the legendary Felix Magath, a move that turned out to be a disaster for the Cottagers.
Tunnicliffe was caught up in that drama at the very start of his Fulham career and although he went on to make 59 appearances for the club, he never really got going or had a manager that believed in him the way Meulensteen obviously did.
That’s at least a factor that Rangers fans should consider before judging his spell at Fulham too harshly.
He has decent Championship experience despite never finding a home
Despite never really proving himself at Fulham, he has racked up a fair amount of Championship appearances, making close to 150 in the division in loan spells at Peterborough United, Blackburn Rovers, Wigan and Ipswich Town over the years. However, he’s obviously never really found a club that he can call home since leaving Manchester and it’s perhaps something Rangers can offer if he can prove he has the ability to be a success at Ibrox.
Rangers can be a very welcoming place for players with a passionate and loyal support desperate to see heroes emerge and take the challenge to Celtic over the next couple of seasons. If Tunnicliffe can perform consistently in the Scottish Premiership he’ll become that hero and find a place to settle down and develop his game.
He’s versatile and suits Caixinha’s pragmatic style
Able to play through the middle from defensive to attacking midfield, Ryan Tunnicliffe can also be an effective presence on the left hand side of midfield if Pedro Caixinha decides he needs a more pragmatic option on the flank.
He’s not your typical creative type midfielder but a committed player who loves a tackle and winning the ball back from the opposition. Rangers’ midfield was accused of being lightweight an ineffective last term so it makes sense for Pedro Caixinha to be pursuing players who can add a bit of dig into that area.
He is tidy in the pass though and will keep things ticking over, perhaps allowing more creative players in Caixinha’s first team to flourish.
