Max Aarons Arrives At Rangers But He’s Got It All To Prove | OneFootball

So Max Aarons is here. Rangers have finally signed their first fresh addition of this summer window, the first new body to come through the door that was not pre-arranged like Lyle Cameron was back in January. Max Aarons is an experienced Premier League player who has fallen on hard times. That is a very familiar story for Rangers fans and Rangers in general, taking in players who in theory have a great deal of talent and potential but did not quite realise it.

The quintessential recent example was Todd Cantwell. He came from Norwich, once upon a time having a £40 million value price tag on his head as Aston Villa came in with interest on him. However, Norwich at the time demanded around about £50 million, if not more, and Villa walked away. Cantwell’s head went down and the rest, as we know, is history. He fell out of favour there and eventually Michael Beale took him north to Rangers.

This has happened many times before, when Premier League players – albeit Cantwell was in the Championship at the time – have found themselves either injured or losing form and have lost their way in England’s top flight, and arguably the world’s top flight. Max Aarons is another one who is very much like that. He may have been injured, he certainly lost form, and the next thing he knows he is being loaned out to Valencia. His career has certainly not shone in the last two or three years. It is a pity for him that his career has gone downhill in the way that it has, and Rangers are attempting to take advantage of a player who will feel like he has a lot to prove.

The problem we would surmise is that while he shone at Bournemouth for long enough and then it went downhill, that he could not shine at the high demand of Valencia – or indeed the high demand of La Liga – does suggest he may struggle with the pressure at Ibrox.

There is no question that in theory he does have the game. He does have the game to cope, to acquit himself well, and he is equipped with tools to shine at Rangers. He is, as we say, experienced at the highest level of the game. You do not play around 100 times in the Premier League if you cannot play. He may indeed be good enough to replace James Tavernier, but we do urge that caution.

So many times, Johnny Big Boots has come north and found Rangers to be a massive prospect that they could not cope with. The quintessential example of that being Joey Barton. He came north expecting to trod all over the league and was absolutely abysmal, and he is by no means alone. Even being successful in the Premier League does not guarantee you are going to shine at Rangers. Rangers are a different animal.

We hope, of course, that Aarons does shine. We hope that the best of him comes through and he regains his old form. But nevertheless, his arrival in Govan is another example of a player who has seen better days and has then come north because he wants to reinvigorate his career. In this case, let us hope he succeeds in doing that.