Steven Gerrard officially joins Al-Ettifaq, completing his return to Rangers

Andy Firth has joined Al-Ettifaq as an assistant goalkeeping coach, which means Steven Gerrard will be playing with Andy Firth again.

The former Ibrox goalkeeper was hired by the Saudi Pro League club on Saturday night as an assistant goalkeeping coach. This came after John Achenbeisg was named head coach for the goalkeepers.

Firth, who is 27 years old, worked for Gerrard at Rangers and knew the manager from when he was at Liverpool.

آندي فيرث مساعد مدرب لحراس المرمى 🤩

أهلًا فيرث بين كتيبة النواخذة 💚❤️#الاتفاق pic.twitter.com/FfLSlieQO0

— نادي الاتفاق (@Ettifaq) June 15, 2024

Firth left Rangers and signed with the Welsh team Connah’s Quay Nomads. He played 32 times for them last season.

However, it looks like Firth will become a full-time coach after the surprise announcement that he would be working in the back office in Saudi Arabia.

“Andy Firth, assistant goalkeeping coach,” said the post on X, which used to be Twitter, confirming the news.

“Welcome to the Nawakhatha Brigade.”

Before moving to Al-Ettifaq, Firth had one job as a coach in the Liverpool academy and another as a player at Connah’s Quay.

Rangers offered the custodian a similar job as a coach when he was leaving the club in 2022, but he chose not to stay in Glasgow.

During his three years at Ibrox, Firth only played seven minutes for Rangers.

Responding to the new players signed by Rangers, Chris Sutton sends a message to Celtic after the deals are done at Ibrox

Chris Sutton says that Rangers have “gotten the ball rolling” with their early summer transfer business because Celtic, who play in the same league, might stay put.

In the print edition of The Daily Record (June 15, page 55), Sutton praised the Gers’ early summer business. He also said that changes at Ibrox shouldn’t make people at Celtic Park panic.

Three new players have been signed by Philippe Clement’s team so far this summer. Sutton said that, unlike Celtic, the light blues are rebuilding this summer.

“Rangers have already gotten things going with new signings,” Sutton said. “But I don’t think Celtic should worry too much about what’s going on in the city.”

“Rangers needs to be completely rebuilt. Celtic doesn’t have as much work to do, but that doesn’t mean they can wait.”

Rangers are moving quickly to rebuild during the summer transfer window.

Three signings made before the transfer window officially opened is a good start for Clement. It sets up a crucial pre-season that will help the new players get used to their new surroundings as quickly as possible.

One of these faces is familiar: Oscar Cortes, a wide receiver from Colombia, is back with the club on loan. He will make the move permanent next summer [Daily Record].

He joins Jefte and Clinton Nsiala as new defenders at Ibrox. The £680,000 they cost together shows that the Gers are trying to be as smart with their money as possible this window. [Daily Record].

The club could spend up to £6 million on a new center-back because Clement wants to improve his team’s defence. The return of Cortes [Sky Sports Austria] also shows that much-needed attention is being paid to the wide areas.

Rangers’ summer goal is simple: put together a team that can compete on all fronts. If the fast-paced business keeps up, Clement could make Sutton even more worried that Celtic are just sitting on their hands.

Clinton Nsiala leaves his club very upset after signing with Rangers, and a big-money transfer is being talked about

Mark Negri says that AC Milan was “very upset” that Clinton Nsiala didn’t sign a new contract and instead chose to move to Rangers.

The middle back who used to play for Ibrox told the Daily Record on June 12 that the young centre back “could turn out to be a great signing” if he can get used to the fact that his next club is “not a normal club.”

The 20-year-old Frenchman Nsiala is joining the Light Blues on a free transfer after signing a pre-contract agreement. He hasn’t played senior football yet, so he’s still seen as a project, but Negri says he could make the club a lot of money in the future like former Gers star Calvin Bassey did.

“He’s a centre back with a very good, modern profile,” the Italian said. Very, very aggressive, has a good left foot, and is at ease with the ball. But he’s still very young and has only played football with the Under-19s, which is not at all like playing for the first team.

“Of course he needs to get better.” Phil Clement may speak some French because he worked with Monaco. Hopefully, that means that language won’t get in the way of his work with Clinton. You have to be patient with this player though and wait for him to learn. There’s a lot to do…

“Everyone at Ibrox hopes that Clinton ends up in the same place as Bassey. We all know that Rangers wants to buy a player like this for a low price, help him get better, and do well at the club. If a bigger club with more money comes along, they can sell him and use the money to buy another player.

“So it’s worth taking a chance when you can get a player like Clinton for free.” Rangers did a good job of getting to him first, though. Nsiala was being looked at by other Italian clubs, so he’s a player that people want to see.

“Everyone in Italy knows what a great player he can be.” Milan’s board was very angry that he didn’t sign a new deal. Rangers are going after things that will help them in the long run, and he is definitely a player for that.

Calvin Bassey was sold by Rangers to Ajax for more than £19 million.

Nsiala will need time to improve if he hasn’t already made a name for himself in senior football, but he must be good if several clubs, including his old team, want to sign him this summer.

From that point of view, it looks like Rangers pulled off a major coup by signing him. Also, the defence in Glasgow has been shaky at times, so an aggressive player who can also play well with the ball is probably just what they need.

Not until Clement has had time to work with the new player during preseason will it be clear when and how much the new player will improve the Gers’ back line.

But if Nsiala can play like Bassey, who is now a defender for Fulham, he will be a big success in Scotland.

Clinton Nsiala could follow a similar path as Calvin Bassey if all goes to plan at Rangers

The Nigerian player came to the club from Leicester City for just £230,000 two years ago. He was then sold to Ajax for more than £19 million because of how well he played in the Europa League final [Sky Sports].

This summer, Clement is clearly focusing on young players. Nsiala, Jefte, and the returning Oscar Cortes are all just 20 years old. This trend looks set to continue now that the Gers are leading the race to sign Connor Barron, 21, from Aberdeen [Scottish Sun, 12 June].

“Does My Nut”—Expert slams Rangers star who “Riles” people for being linked to divorce

Derek Ferguson has said that Todd Cantwell’s tendency to get into trouble “just does my nut in at times,” even though Cantwell is a good player for Rangers.

Since he had a bad season at Ibrox, the attacking midfielder’s future at the club is uncertain as the transfer window opens.

According to Chris Jack [Rangers Review, 28 May], the “jury is out” on the former Norwich player. Now, Peter Grant [Go Radio, 5 June] has suggested that the player could leave on loan in the summer.

In the print edition of the Scottish Mail on Sunday on May 26 (pages 98 and 99), Gary Keown even said the English player should be sold this summer, even though he played well in the Scottish Cup final loss to Celtic.

Ferguson likes a lot about Cantwell’s game, but he gets angry when he gets involved in “verbals” with other players, like Chris Sutton, who used to play for Norwich and is against him.

He only told Ibrox News, “I like Todd Cantwell as a football player. There’s a lot to like about how enthusiastic he is and how good he can be with the ball at times.”

However, the fact that he wants to argue with other players too much drives me crazy at times.

Say what you want with your feet. He just gets too busy with too many things. He also spends too much time on social media, posting things and making statements.

“It makes boys mad.” I like guys who don’t talk much on social media and instead hang out in the park.

Could Todd Cantwell play for the Rangers again under Philippe Clement?

When Michael Beale took over, Cantwell became a star almost right away. But under Clement, he has never seemed to reach the same level of fame.

After the Belgian replaced him in the first half early in his reign, their relationship was said to be “close to breaking point” [Daily Record, 4 December].

Even though things seemed to be getting better as the season went on, Cantwell was often left on the bench in favour of Tom Lawrence, even though neither player played great, so if a good offer came in this summer, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Rangers took it.