Barry Ferguson has expressed his excitement over Rangers' signing of Dan Neil, but has refused to discuss the possibility of his nephew Lewis Ferguson joining the club this summer.
Ferguson stays silent on nephew Lewis
Speaking in his column, the former Rangers captain said he is aware of the speculation linking Lewis with a move to Ibrox but will not join the discussion. "It's not my business," he wrote. "Of course I would love, at some stage in his career, for Lewis to pull on a Rangers jersey. That's obvious to anyone. But the last thing he needs is me putting my oar in. Lewis is his own man, he's an intelligent young man and he'll make the right decisions for his football career."
Dan Neil catches Ferguson's eye
Ferguson was eager to talk about Dan Neil, whom he has watched 15 to 20 times. He recalled his childhood trips to Sunderland to watch his brother Derek play at Roker Park, which sparked his interest in the club. "Dan was always one that stood out for me in recent times," Ferguson said. "He was a born-and-bred Sunderland fan, a young player that came through the system and he was a young captain."
Ferguson highlighted Neil's leadership qualities and demanding nature. "He's a good footballer, but he also likes a moan and a groan. He demands of team-mates and I liked that. That caught my eye." He noted that Neil was surprisingly not a regular in Sunderland's Premier League campaign after helping them gain promotion, with Granit Xhaka operating in his position. After a loan spell at Ipswich in the second half of last season, Ferguson believes Neil is the type of player Rangers fans will enjoy watching.
Rangers' summer business assessed
Ferguson also commented on Rangers' other acquisitions. He praised Lawrence Shankland as a signing for the striking department that should have been made last summer. He noted that Ross McCrorie has matured since leaving Ibrox, having gained experience at Aberdeen and Bristol City. Goalkeeper Ivor Pandur, a Croatian international, "looks the part" despite Ferguson not having seen enough of him to give a proper judgement. Ben Godfrey, who was highly rated at Everton a few years ago, has the attributes Ferguson would want, though his career stalled due to injuries.
Ferguson stressed the importance of reducing player turnover. "You can't keep having a big turnover of players every single year. That's no good. You can't be having a rebuild every year, every single pre-season because I don't think it helps, I don't think it's healthy. But it is having to happen again this summer because of the way things ended last season following the split and it seems to me like there's good work going on."
He welcomed the early arrivals, saying it allows new signings to settle in quickly. "It's nice for Derek McInnes to have some of the fresh faces in quickly because you want them to get used to their new surroundings." Ferguson concluded that five additions at this stage is a reasonable number and that early signs in the transfer market are positive, hoping this is the start of a successful foundation for Rangers.
