We had to laugh yesterday with the DR’s ‘exclusive’ story about James Tavernier and Connor Goldson’s potential departures to Saudi Arabia from Rangers, with the claim that Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq ‘expect’ Rangers to sell the players if a ‘suitable’ offer arrives.

The comical irony is a bid already came in, and the club has been sitting on it for a while now, leaving the decision up to the player/players.

And the further irony?

The story the DR ripped off from Saudi outlet Hi Koura is from 5 days ago…

To quote the story, crudely translated from Arabic:

“Hi Koura – Press reports revealed that Al-Ettifaq club’s coach, Steven Gerrard, wants to include the duo James Tavernier and Connor Goldson, during the upcoming summer transfer period.

Tavernier is active in the right-back position, where he has a contract for the next two seasons until June 2026, while Connor Goldson plays in the centre-back position, whose contract also extends until June 2026, and it is expected that Scottish side Rangers will open the door to the duo’s departure if a suitable offer is received.”

But this story is almost a week old, 6th of June to be exact.

As we say an offer has come in, to our understanding, which Rangers have mulled over and told the players to think about, while Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s new charges Besiktas are also interested in Tavernier alone. We’re not aware of any interest Rangers’ old boss has in Goldson.

But the point is the story isn’t anything new, and the Hi Koura outlet weren’t reporting anything we didn’t already know.

The DR, however, seemed quite happy to report it as new content as if it wasn’t already out there.

Either way, there remains a lot of interest in Tavernier and Goldson, and it’s looking increasingly unlikely they’ll still be at Rangers come next season.

We can only hope, right?