Scott Arfield and James McArthur to be Rangers’ next midfield?

Rangers are believed to be in advanced talks with Burnley’s Scott Arfield and Crystal Palace’s James McArthur, according to recent reports.

The pair are both out of contract at the end of the season and come replete with Premier League and international experience. James McArthur is also a boyhood Rangers fan to boot, and both have played in Scotland previously in their careers.

Arfield is mostly used on the left of midfield, although he’s more of a central midfielder playing wide than a classic winger - and he’s also comfortable in the centre of the park or behind the striker, possessing a well-balanced range of skills with an eye for goal to boot. McArthur, meanwhile, tends to sit deeper and could be the defensive midfielder Rangers desperately need when Ross McCrorie is injured, needed in defence, or requires more experience.

Both signings aren’t exactly edge-of-the-seat players, but they’re also both of a very high standard and still more or less in their prime. For that reason, it’s hard to make a hugely convincing argument against either player - and with Greg Docherty, Ross McCrorie and Ryan Jack as backup, we’d certainly have a very strong, solid midfield with plenty of options to start the season.

Neither signing is a lock just yet - there are other clubs also interested. But both players are believed to be keen on returning to Scotland, and it’s nice to see that we’re shopping at the upper end of the market. We won’t have much resale value from either, but if we want to put a team together that can seriously challenge Celtic, then a Candeias-McArthur-Dorrans-Arfield-Murphy midfield is probably going to be capable of doing that.

Well, with a competent manager. We’re still waiting on news on that front...