Rangers fans are desperate for the club to sort out John Lundstram’s long-running contract saga, with the midfield titan clearly stating he wants to stay, and the reported hold up being sorting out the finer details.
Lundstram’s stock is sky high now, playing probably the best football of his career and hitting a clear peak at 30 years of age, but it’s also worth remembering a new extension on his deal is on a player who could be 33 by the time it ends.
Lundstram may only just have turned 30 but it’s the wrong side of 30 he’s on now, and while Rangers desperately want to keep him, the policy at the club under Philippe Clement is not to spend big money on older players who have little to no resale value.
Unfortunately, due to his 30+ age, Rangers are unlikely to get a lot of change in the event of selling Lundstram in the future, so any new deal has to be fair for both sides.
We agree completely with keeping within club policy, and ensuring we’re not throwing money away at something with no profit in it.
That said, Lunny doesn’t have any desire to leave Rangers, and that commitment is important – he wants to be paid at the level his ability and contribution deserve, and a little more in line with what the best-paid players earn.
With Goldson (this wage and contract was a horrible mistake – pay too high and too long in duration) and Danilo earning around £40,000 (another club error, too much), Lunny wants to be a bit closer to them, being on around £22K at the moment.
But then the club has to decide if it’s worth shelling out around £30K which equates to about £1.5M a year on a player over 30 who is unlikely bring anything back in resale, not that he wants to go.
Clement absolutely wants to keep him, the club wants to keep him, and the player wants to stay, but the numbers have to make sense to everyone and that, for now, seems to be the sticking point.
Rangers are a more tightly-run ship now, and young signings in January like Diomande and Cortes are the plan forward.
These guys will offer a profit in the future, but Lunny, despite being a free transfer, is unlikely to rake in similar big cash in the event of being sold, meaning the wages are not an investment.
The board has to decide if hiking his wage up keeps everything ‘cushty’ and in line with club finances as they are now.
We will see if they do in time.