For the last few weeks there have been various stories on the summer transfer rumour mill that linked Rangers with having a potential interest in former Academy goalkeeper Liam Kelly, and on Thursday afternoon that speculation was proven correct as the club officially confirmed his return to Ibrox.
The 28 year old, one capped Scotland international, turned professional with us back in 2015, but left for Livingston in 2018 without making a single appearance for us. With him starting a new chapter in his career, he did not really need any essay writing help as he more than made the grade, and having since spent time with Queens Park Rangers in the English Championship, he returns to us from Fir Park having just completed a three year spell with Motherwell with almost 300 starting appearances to his name.
He returns having clearly picked up good game experience on his travels in the last few years, and having just been part of Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for the 2024 European Championships out in Germany, he leaves Motherwell having made 154 appearances for them, with 43 of those coming in the 2023/24 campaign alone.
The Glasgow native admitted himself that when he did initially leave us he felt that it would be incredibly unlikely that he would ever return, but having been with us for 14 years already he knows the club inside and out, and he backed himself to rise to the ‘challenge’ that he has now taken on, with the ink dry on his new two year deal.
Fans will have their own opinions on how far he may be able to push current No 1 Jack Butland, but we can certainly expect a return of speculation linking the 31 year old, nine capped England international, with a departure again.
Manager Philippe Clement is not sounding like a gaffer who expects the stopper to depart though, and with his experience now Kelly should be an admirable back up option should injury unfortunately hit our Player of the Season.
Whilst Clement’s summer plans continue as he reshapes and looks to improve the squad for his first full season in charge, fans will be eagerly watching on for whatever additional captures we may be looking to make now.
There will also be those patiently waiting to see what the full fall out from the Copland Stand delays will be. The club confirmed last week that there had been an unexpected delay to the building works as an issue developed with a ‘materials shipment from Asia’ and it was already known that talks were being had with the Scottish Professional Football League to try and minimise any potential hiccups at the start of the new season, as some early Ibrox scheduled matches would see some disruption.
The SPFL have said this week that they fully expect Rangers to now request some ‘flexibility’ from them and other clubs as we deal with a ‘difficult situation’ that is, ultimately out of our hands.
Whether this flexibility would be a temporary alternative venue, a reversal of some fixtures so our home clashes came later in the fixture list, or some straight postponements (reportedly not the preferred option), that remains to be seen, however, with some common sense being shown there should be some very easy fixes here that work for all parties involved.
The timing of the issue was also unfortunate as there was not really any time for the fixture lists to take the problem into account, but again, it is certainly not an insurmountable problem.
Hopefully things will be a lot clearer for fans in the next couple of weeks, as then plans for the return of football can really be made.
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