The Daily Record has revived the private jet in a throwback to the glorious reign of Dave Murray as they attempt to reassure their Army of Readers that all is well at Ibrox.
Apparently Trabzonspor re raking through the bins at Murray Park for fresh talent with Todd Cantwell in line for a reunion with John Lundstram and Borna Barisic.
Recent speculation over a move for James Tavernier appears to have ended when they discovered his Ibrox salary which still has two years to run.
Back in Murray’s pomp the private jet was an essential part of any daring Rangers (IL) transfer swoop as James Traynor or one of his minions spread the good news through a well trusted transfer template.
As well as use of the private jet for hush hush transfer talks the signing target would be given a tour of the state of the art training facilities at Murray Park and be excited by the European plans of Sir Walter/The Little General/Big Eck.
That would be followed by fighting off late interest from Manchester United and Arsenal with Murray pushing the boat out to increase the offer to ensure that he got his man.
Over half a million bears lapped up that sort of feel good story for years, these days with circulation of the Record now well under 50,000 the template has been adapted to drum up excitement over the departure of TikTok taking a chunk off the £10m a year deficit that has John Bennett highly concerned.
Today the Record reports:
Rangers rebel Todd Cantwell could become the latest player to make the move from Ibrox to Trabzonspor after a director at the Turkish club reportedly made a whirlwind trip to Glasgow by private jet to kick off negotiations that will see him seal his exit.
John Lundstram and Borna Barisic have already joined the Super Lig side – with captain James Tavernier also linked with them – and now Cantwell could follow after he handed in a transfer request at Rangers which has seen him frozen out of the first-team picture by Philippe Clement.
The report by Karadeni Gazete says Trabzonspor, managed by Abdullah Avci, have turned their attention to 26-year-old Cantwell after a move for Austrian international playmaker Muhammed Cham, who plays for Clermont in France, fell through. The report states that Cantwell fancies Trabzonspor for a “new challenge”, adding:
“According to the information received, a burgundy-blue manager came to Glasgow by private plane the other day to meet with Todd Cantwell. The same plane returned to Turkey a few hours later. The claimants claimed that the meeting was positive and that the Cantwell transfer would be made official in a short time.”
Trabzospor lost 1-0 to Rapid Vienna in their Europa League qualifier on Thursday night. Cantwell’s former team-mate Lundstram was taken off after 70 minutes, while Barisic didn’t feature. Cantwell is talked up in the report saying: “While playing for Norwich City, the English number 10 was on the list of world giants with his performances. Todd Cantwell was known as the ‘Velvet Wristed Number 10’ due to his excellent game vision and ability to use his feet and head at the same time. “
Note the private plan in the Turkish report has been updated to a jet in the Record version.
With two seasons left on his Ibrox salary it is unlikely that Trabzonspor will be able to match Cantwell’s salary, not even for the now popular undisclosed transfer fee.
A loan deal could be arranged in the final days of the transfer window but as Trabzonspor fans discover more about Barisic and Lundstram the enthusiasm for Velvet Wrists may decline.
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1 Comment
by BriBhoy
If the private jet is back on the scene, does that mean that legendary “Monaco-based superagent Willie McKay”, the man behind every multimillion pound, “no income tax, no VAT, no money back, no guarantee” deal they did in their 90s overdraft-fuelled pomp, is also back?