ian1964 10,429 Posted January 5, 2017 Author Share Posted January 5, 2017 BIRMINGHAM defender Paul Robinson has backed Rangers target Jon Toral to light up Scottish football – and admitted he’s gutted his good friend isn’t going to be joining him again at St Andrew’s. The Spanish midfielder is expected to complete a loan move from Arsenal to Ibrox in the coming days, re-uniting him with manager Mark Warburton who he played under during another temporary spell at Brentford. The 21 year-old has spent the first half of the season on loan at La Liga outfit Granada but, after failing to nail down a first-team place, is looking for a fresh challenge. Rangers would seem to have won the race for the player’s signature and Robinson, who played with Toral during his loan spell at Birmingham last season, believes they have landed a real class act. The 38 year-old said: “Jon’s a fantastic talent and will be a great signing for Rangers. He came straight into the team with us at Birmingham and went on to make a real impact last season. “He’s an attacking midfielder who can play wide on either side but his best position for me is in the hole behind a striker. He causes so many problems as he’s an intelligent player. Even in the tightest of areas he will find space as he’s that good. “He’s technically excellent, knows where the goal is, and his ability to beat players and bring others into play is second to none. He’s an all-round footballer as he’s also strong in the air with a great jump. “I’m gutted really as I thought Birmingham might go back in for him. I talk to him all the time but he’s kept this one quiet so I’ll have to phone him and give him a bit of an earful! But if Rangers have got in first then they’ve landed themselves a fantastic signing. “It’s a statement from them. I know Mark Warburton has worked with Jon before at Brentford so he’ll know what a player he is.” Robinson watched the recent Old Firm derby on television and earmarked Toral to make an impact when the next one rolls around in March. He added: “He’ll be well up for the matches against Celtic. He’ll love that kind of game and he’ll thrive in it as he’s got a great temperament for a young guy. He’ll want to show people what he can do on the biggest stage, so the derbies will be a great chance for him to do that. “I watched the game the other day and it was very close but Celtic’s extra bit of quality just killed the game off. Now Jon will give Rangers that extra spark they maybe missed on the day. Hopefully he can sort me out with some tickets for it!” http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/15005853.Birmingham_star_tips_Toral_to_shine_at_Rangers___and_wishes_he_was_going_back_to_Blues_instead/ 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Working in brum and the Birmingham fans cant speak highly enough of him. Wine both players and fans player of the year. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,263 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I'll get excited once he is up at Ibrox or Auchenhowie, pen in hand and signature drying on the contract. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,429 Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Saturday 7th January 2017 Real Madrid v Granada - La Liga - 12:00 - Sky Sports 2*/*Sky Sports 2 HD Well at least we can view him tomorrow, if he plays! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Cole 0 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Saturday 7th January 2017 Real Madrid v Granada - La Liga - 12:00 - Sky Sports 2*/*Sky Sports 2 HD Well at least we can view him tomorrow, if he plays! We're Rangers. He'll do his cruciate. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
compo 6,181 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 If we get him I wonder how much the loan fee will cost the club plus wages . 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERRAB 3,273 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 If we get him I wonder how much the loan fee will cost the club plus wages . It will be money well spent. The guy looks a class act. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Cole 0 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 It will be money well spent. The guy looks a class act. Hope so. I'd sack his Youtube editor though 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Hope so. I'd sack his Youtube editor though And sign Sebo's up he looked fantastic on Youtube. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,429 Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 RANGERS would have lost out on signing Jon Toral had Gary Rowett not been sacked by Birmingham just before Christmas. Rowett had been in talks with the Spanish midfielder, who spent last season on loan at the Championship outfit, with a view to bringing him back from Spanish club Granada this month when he was surprisingly let go by City. With Birmingham out of the picture, Rangers manager Mark Warburton has stepped in to make a counter offer to loan the player from Arsenal for the remainder of the season. The 21-year-old is expected to feature against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu this evening before giving Warburton, who he played under at Brentford in another loan spell, his final answer on the proposed move to Ibrox. Rowett is looking to make an immediate return to management and has been linked with a number of vacancies down south but joked that Toral did not want to wait until his former boss had landed a new post before deciding on his next club. Rowett said: “The biggest compliment I can pay to Jon is that we had actually moved to bring him back to Birmingham in this window before I left. "That was something we had worked incredibly hard to do. We had kept in regular contact with Jon since the summer and sent one of our staff to watch him out in Granada. "So I think we would have competed with Rangers for his signature and would have tried to sign him permanently if we could have as well. “I actually spoke to Jon a couple of days ago and he told me there was a good chance he might be joining Rangers. And I said to him, “can’t you hang on a couple of weeks until I get another job?” but he was quite adamant that he saw this as a good opportunity. And I think he feels Arsenal think it is a good opportunity, too.” Rowett also felt that, should they get the deal over the line, Rangers would be getting a player who could make an immediate impact in the second half of the season. He added: “Jon is a great lad, one who fits in to the group right away because of his character. I played him as a number 10 predominantly. "I know under Mark he often played wide right, drifting in on his left foot, but we mostly played him centrally. He’s a very talented player, with a good touch and an excellent dribbler in tight areas. “The biggest thing I would say about him is he’s a real goal threat. Not only does he link well with players but he scored eight for us last season in the Championship. "And he should have scored more. He got one against Ipswich that most Blues fans would say is up there with the best ever scored at St Andrew’s. "I think he will flourish in that environment with Rangers. He’s got English Premier League quality, or certainly potential.” 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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