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Leader Live
41 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Joe Rothwell excited to team up with Russell Martin again
The 30-year-old, who still had a year to run on his Cherries deal, has moved to Ibrox for an undisclosed fee and signed a three-year contract. Rothwell spent six months on loan under recently-appointed Gers manager Martin at Southampton in the 2023-24 campaign as they won promotion from the Championship via the play-offs. 💙 We are today delighted to announce the signing of Joe Rothwell from @afcbournemouth on a three-year deal. 👉 — Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) July 2, 2025 'I am delighted to have the deal done and be here,' Rothwell told Gers' website. 'It is brilliant. The size of the club speaks for itself and as soon as the interest was there it was an immediate 'yes' from me. 'With Russell coming in too it made that decision a little bit easier because working with him in the past and I know what type of guy he is and how he wants to do things. That was an even bigger pull for me, but the club speaks for itself.' Rothwell did not get the chance to play in the Premier League under Martin as he instead joined Leeds on loan from Bournemouth last season, but he enjoyed more glory at the Elland Road club – whose chairman Paraag Marathe is also now Rangers' vice-chairman – by playing 39 matches in the Whites' surge to the Championship title. 🤝 — Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) July 2, 2025 Martin believes the fact his latest signing arrives at Ibrox on the back of fruitful loan stints bodes well for his time in Scotland. 'He is a player who we thoroughly enjoyed working with during my time at Southampton,' said the manager. 'His leadership, professionalism and quality were a huge asset. He is joining on the back of two promotions so helps bring a real winning mentality to the group. We are excited for Joe to join up the squad, get to know his teammates, and help make the group stronger.' Rothwell, who played up to Under-20 level with England, came through the ranks at Manchester United before moving to Oxford in 2016. He then spent four years with Blackburn from 2018 to 2022 before signing for Bournemouth, which preceded his back-to-back promotion-winning stints at Southampton and Leeds. Gers sporting director Kevin Thelwell added: 'We are thrilled to secure Joe's services as we continue to strengthen the squad this summer. 'He has a wealth of experience in the game having performed strongly over a number of years at various levels in England. 'We believe he has the right temperament and quality as a player to be a strong addition to the squad and look forward to seeing his impact.' Rothwell becomes Rangers' third new addition this summer following the arrival of midfielder Lyall Cameron from Dundee and right-back Max Aarons on loan from Bournemouth. The trio could be joined by Peterborough defender Emmanuel Fernandez, who was understood to be travelling to Scotland on Wednesday evening with a view to moving to Ibrox following talks between the two clubs. The 23-year-old was a regular for the Posh in League One last term and has two years left of his deal at London Road.
Leader Live
42 minutes ago
- Leader Live
The tension has been escalating – PFA chief feels strike threat not gone away
Some of the world's top stars are currently involved in the Club World Cup in the United States, often training and playing in high temperatures on the back of long domestic seasons and with new campaigns just around the corner. Manchester City midfielder Rodri said last year players were 'close' to striking over the demands being placed on them and Molango believes there remains concern among players that their voices are not being heard. Asked if a strike was still on the table, Molango said: 'It comes to a stage when you expect the authorities to look after you and they don't look after you. 'When you go to those pre-season meetings with other stakeholders, you can see the tension. I've been doing that now for four years and the tension has been escalating. 'People are saying, 'This is my career. And in the end, you (competition organisers) make decisions, but in the end, I have an average eight years to have a career'.' Molango says expanded international competitions may have the most direct, physical effect on the very top players, but that those underneath will suffer too and expects pressure to be brought to bear internationally on the Premier League to cut to 18 teams to accommodate overseas competitions. He cited the disappearance of FA Cup replays as an immediate example of a domestic repercussion and added: 'The next step is pressure on domestic leagues, pressure on, 'Why are we the only country with so many cups? Why don't we get rid of the League Cup?' 'Those are things that we can see would be in the pipeline. What about if they say, 'Let's reduce number of teams in the Premier League'. 'It isn't going to be a problem for the top clubs, it'll be a problem for the nine, eight clubs that fight for relegation. 'And I would say to them – don't be fooled. The TV money pot is what it is, it's not getting any bigger. And therefore a new competition means a new guest trying to eat into that pie.' Molango hopes the Club World Cup experience will make FIFA listen to calls to avoid afternoon kick-offs in certain venues especially prone to high temperatures for next year's World Cup finals in the US, Canada and Mexico, if for no other reason than tired players effectively playing walking football is bad for business. 'We've reached a stage where the quality is dropping, because there's no way you can have a good game if you play at 4pm in Mexico. It's impossible. 'My hope is that people now, even from a pure business perspective, will see that does not make sense. 'We're devaluing the product and it's a shame, you know, because if I'm a US fan, and that's my first exposure to soccer, that's not good. 'That's not good because we need to be mindful that we're competing with other sports and they're very good at entertainment. Then (football) becomes a very poor comparison.'
Leader Live
44 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Rangers sign Bournemouth midfielder Joe Rothwell for undisclosed fee
The 30-year-old, who still had a year to run on his Cherries deal, has moved to Ibrox for an undisclosed fee and signed a three-year contract. Rothwell spent six months on loan under recently-appointed Gers manager Martin at Southampton in the 2023-24 campaign as they won promotion from the Skt Bet Championship via the play-offs. The Englishman did not get the chance to play in the Premier League as he instead joined Leeds on loan from the Cherries last season, but he enjoyed more glory at the Elland Road club – whose chairman Paraag Marathe is also now Rangers' vice-chairman – by winning the Championship title. Rothwell, who played up to Under-20 level with England, came through the ranks at Manchester United before moving to Oxford in 2016. He then spent four years with Blackburn from 2018 to 2022 before signing for Bournemouth, which preceded his back-to-back promotion-winning stints at Southampton and Leeds. Rothwell becomes Rangers' third new addition this summer following the arrival of midfielder Lyall Cameron from Dundee and right-back Max Aarons on loan from Bournemouth.
