£3m star now really wants to sign for Rangers

One of the biggest tasks facing Glasgow Rangers and Danny Rohl at Ibrox this summer is replacing long-serving club captain James Tavernier.

The English defender will officially move on from Glasgow at the end of his contract at the end of June, after ten seasons with the Scottish Premiership giants since his move from Wigan in 2015.

Tavernier racked up 144 goals and 148 assists in 565 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues in his decade at Ibrox, providing a big threat at the top end of the pitch from a right-back position.

Whilst the veteran defender will have wanted to win more than one Scottish Premiership title during his time at the club, the 34-year-old star still achieved a lot with the club.

He led the team out for a European final in the Europa League against Eintracht Frankfurt and captained the side to an unbeaten league title under Steven Gerrard in the 2020/21 campaign.

£3m Rangers target is excited to make move to Ibrox

Tavernier’s time at the club may not have ended in the best way, as he missed the last two games of the season after a falling out with Danny Rohl over not being in the starting XI against Hibernian for the final home game, supporters can still appreciate his contributions.

The Light Blues are now tasked with replacing the skipper, though, and they are already making moves behind the scenes to secure a new full-back for the 2026/27 campaign.

According to TEAMtalk, Glasgow Rangers are interested in a deal to sign Hammarby right-back Hampus Skoglund in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The report claims that the 22-year-old is attracted to the idea of playing at Ibrox and is excited by the prospect of a transfer to the club to play under Rohl and feature in European competitions.

It adds that the Light Blues have already made contact with his representatives to lay the groundwork on a potential deal, and reveals that they are in pole position to land the Swedish star in the off-season.

Now it is down to the club to agree a deal with Hammarby for the star, who is valued at £3m, to bring him over to Glasgow in the coming weeks as Tavernier’s replacement.

Why Hampus Skoglund will improve the Rangers wingers

Whilst this deal is about replacing Tavernier and what he brought to the table at right-back, signing Skoglund to fill the right-back spot could improve Rohl’s wide options on the right flank, namely Djeidi Gassama.

As good as the captain was, the English defender wanted to be the main man on the ball for the Gers this season, which makes sense when you consider his aforementioned record for goals and assists throughout his career.

However, that often meant that the right winger playing ahead of Tavernier was in the team to take attention away from defenders and create space for the full-back, rather than it being the other way around.

In the 2025 Allsvenskan season, Skoglund lost possession almost 300 fewer times than Tavernier did in the Premiership this term, whilst recording as many assists as the Englishman.

This suggests that the full-back can be just as creative as the Gers captain without needing as much of the ball to consistently give possession back to the opposition.

Gassama would, therefore, love this signing because it could result in him getting more of the ball in dangerous areas when he plays on the right side of the attack, rather than being used as a distraction for Tavernier to put crosses into the box.

The former Sheffield Wednesday star showed flashes of quality in the Premiership in his first season at Ibrox, scoring three goals and providing five assists in 38 appearances in the division.

Gassama is yet to add consistency to his play at the top end of the pitch, though, and the signing of Skoglund could play a part in helping him find that consistency, as he is more of a balanced full-back, rather than a ball-dominant one.

That is why the 22-year-old forward should be hoping that the Gers get a deal over the line for the Swedish full-back in the coming weeks, as it could improve his chances of being more productive in the final third by giving him more opportunities on the ball down the right flank.