http://www.tumspor.com/haber/20110102/Fenerbahce-Bougherrayi-arastiriyor.php
One of a number of Turkish gossip/sports sites suggesting Fenerbahçe may be interested in a move for our central defender, with the fee involved varying but rarely venturing north of €8M, around £6.6M. This seems a very generous number but we need not necessarily discount the notion that teams may be interested in a man who had a good World Cup and has played in the CL.
Boogie is an interesting chap. Once universally popular amongst the Rangers faithful, there’s been a (not so great) Western (Enclosure) Schism of late: those in the Avignon camp believe he is still an excellent player, and his increasing runs and forward movement an indication of his willingness to do the best for the team. And those in Protestant Rome: they tend to believe his concentration is wavering; his lack of defensive responsibility is hurting the side and now may not be a bad time to try to make some proper profit on the player. His ego has corrupted him and the position, so it goes.
Regardless of where you stand on this, Bougherra has been honest enough to suggest that he would be happy to move to a club he considered a step above, and rarely shy in coming forward with a quote over the past few years when EPL, Bundesliga clubs have been mentioned as potential suitors.
Any move during the window would not be welcome but we must assume that it cannot be discounted. If he leaves now then Central defensive options would be as follows:
1. Sir David of Weir. A modern day legend but undeniably not one for the long-term.
2. Andy Web...okay, we’ll move on.
3. Sasa Papac, with Foster, Whittaker and once fit, Broadfoot at full-back.
4. Lee McCulloch.
5. Broxi Bear.
Now, I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I’d imagine a replacement would have to be found with any cash (Euros, Pounds, Monopoly dollars) brought in. Question is: have we been looking?
In recent years a good number of players have left – and it seems will continue to leave – Rangers as the prospect of a new contract, or at least an acceptable one, hasn’t been available. Current economic circumstances do nothing to suggest this will change much in the foreseeable future.
We have to consider if Madjid will be one of those who will accept an offer which could easily be trumped by a number of clubs, some of which play in more appealing leagues?
If yes, we need to sign him now as a matter of priority.
If not, and this is where I tend to place my Dinars, we have to consider if we’re willing to have next season’s transfer window resemble so many in the recent past and have Bougherra do a Miller.
In this case, the club has a stronger position from which to begin any bargaining: but three senior club officials have indicated that we have to consider all offers for players and the question may not be can we keep him but rather how much can we make from his exit?