Rangers have signed Bournemouth midfielder Joe Rothwell for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal.
Rothwell, 30, reunites with boss Russell Martin, who he played under at Southampton during a loan spell in 2023/24.
Rothwell helped Saints to promotion from the Championship to the Premier League and did the same last season with Leeds while on loan there.
The Man Utd academy graduate turned down the opportunity to go to LaLiga to complete his switch to Ibrox and is the club’s third signing of the summer, after Max Aarons, who joined on loan from Bournemouth, and Lyall Cameron from Dundee.
“I am delighted to have the deal done and be here,” Rothwell said. “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.”
Martin said: “He is a player who we thoroughly enjoyed working with during my time at Southampton.
“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 the squad, get to know his teammates, and help make the group stronger.”
Rangers in talks to sign defender Djiga
Nasser Djiga of Wolverhampton Wanderers
Rangers are in talks to sign Wolves centre-back Nasser Djiga on loan.
The 22-year-old joined Wolves in February from Red Star Belgrade for £10m and it is understood Rangers want to bring the Burkina Faso international in on a season-long deal. He has five years left on his contract at Molineux.
Rangers fixtures: Motherwell opener live on Sky Sports
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Russell Martin reacted to the news that Rangers’ first game of the Scottish Premiership season will be against Motherwell and revealed that he has exchanged messages with Jens Berthel Askou, a player he previously played with at Norwich
Rangers will kick off their 2025/26 Scottish Premiership season at Motherwell on Saturday August 2, live on Sky Sports.
It will be new head coach Martin’s first league game in charge since being appointed in the summer, and will come just days after their Champions League second-qualifying-round clash against Panathinaikos.
His first Scottish Premiership game at Ibrox will take place on Saturday August 9 against Steven Pressley’s Dundee.
The first Old Firm clash of the season takes place on Sunday August 31 live on Sky Sports as Celtic travel to Ibrox, a fixture that could be key as Martin’s side look to close the gap on their city rivals this season.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Kris Boyd and Chris Sutton make their predictions for the 2025/26 Scottish Premiership title
The sides will meet again at Celtic Park on Wednesday January 3 – live on Sky Sports – with their final pre-split meeting at Ibrox on February 28.
Elsewhere, their first match against Derek McInnes’ Hearts comes on Saturday September 13 at Ibrox, while Rangers face the two newly-promoted clubs on consecutive weeks with a trip to Livingston on Saturday September 27, before travelling to Falkirk on October 4.
Rangers head to Easter Road – where they ended the last campaign – to face Hibernian on Wednesday October 29, while the first clash against Aberdeen follows that on November 1 at Ibrox.
With no winter break this season, Rangers face six games in December – however, there are no games on Boxing Day. Instead, Martin’s side head to Hearts on Saturday December 20 and then host Motherwell on Saturday December 27 at Ibrox.
Rangers’ final pre-split fixture takes place on April 11 at Falkirkwith the league campaign concluding on the weekend of May 16/17 and the play-off final bringing a curtain down on proceedings on May 21 and 24.
About The Author
