James Tavernier Signs Extension

Rangers and skipper James Tavernier have agreed to a contract extension keeping him with the club till 2022.

Today Rangers announced that they have agreed to a contract extension with defensive back James Tavernier. Tavernier has been with the club since 2015 and was named captain by Steven Gerrard this season.

The deal is announced to run until the Summer of 2022, effectively making it a four-year extension. Tavernier will turn 27 years old in October and the contract will keep him with the team past his 30th birthday.

In his 154 appearances for the club, Tavernier has scored 25 goals. This season he has already netted 4 goals in 14 appearances with his most recent coming this past weekend against Dundee from the penalty spot.

Tavernier wore the captain’s armband for much of the latter part of last season and was named captain on a permanent basis this season by Steven Gerrard.

Tavernier is a great attacker from the back, and while he does sometimes show weakness in the actual defense of being a defender, he is mostly solid. His reliability from the penalty spot is especially valuable.

Tavernier joins teammate Alfredo Morelos in receiving extensions from the new skipper and both players have been the only holdovers from the previous season to be every game starters.

The extension should all but kill some of the questions floating around Tavernier and his status as captain. Given how much turnover the roster has gone through since bringing on Steven Gerrard as manager, it was not outlandish to wonder if Gerrard saw Tavernier as a long-term piece or not.

Gerrard and the club likely hope that Tavernier can continue to be an experienced player with the club, as other than the returning players (McGregor/Lafferty) he is the longest tenured player on the roster.