- Ben Davies season-long loan at Oxford United ended in recent days
- The 30-year-old has ‘returned’ to Ibrox but he is set to leave the club in the coming weeks
- His departure will be one of many, with a defensive exodus set to get underway
Some Rangers fans did not react well to the news that Ben Davies is returning to Ibrox from his loan spell at Oxford United.
The U’s season ended in disappointment with the club relegated back to League 1 after the Championship campaign concluded last weekend.
Officially, Ben Davies has returned to Rangers but his Ibrox contract is set to expire in a matter of weeks.
What an expensive mistake that signing has been.
Ben Davies has been an expensive error for Rangers
Signed from Liverpool in a deal worth up to £4 million back in 2022, Rangers were supposed to be getting a back playing central defender who would be able to face the physical demands in Scotland.
Due to form or fitness, Davies only featured sporadically under Giovanni van Bronckhorst, then Michael Beale.
The writing was on the wall by the time Phillipe Clement arrived, even though he made some appearances under the Belgian.
Last season, the Englishman thrived on loan with Birmingham City in League One, leading to speculation that he would remain at St. Andrews for 2025/26.
A return to the Midlands did not materialise, and in late August it was confirmed that he would spend the season at the Kassam Stadium.
Ben Davies has been an expensive error for Rangers, similar to the likes of Rabbi Matondo and Kieran Dowell, who were signed in the same window.
All three commanded significant wages, far beyond what their impact on the pitch merited.
Rangers’ defensive exodus this summer
The ‘return’ of Davies will be no more than a case of tying up loose ends.
Even if he is spotted at Ibrox or Auchenhowie over the next two weeks, the end is in sight.
His future is now uncertain, but the departure points to a bigger issue – the impending defensive exodus at Ibrox this summer.
Have a think about the names and the respective situations with various players.
Jack Butland’s future is in doubt for obvious reasons and James Tavernier will leave the club this month.
As things stand, Nasser Djiga will return to Wolves and Derek Cornelius will also go back to is parent club, Marseille.
Jayden Meghoma will end his loan spell, going back to Brentford, leaving very few senior defenders in the squad.
Dujon Sterling, John Souttar, Manny Fernandez and Tuur Rommens will be holding the fort at the start of pre-season in late June, to be joined by further defensive reinforcements.
That will be just one part of another rebuild required for the Rangers squad, yet again.
