Bolton Wanderers’ Declan John during the Sky Bet League One between Bolton Wanderers and Morecambe at University of Bolton Stadium on August 16, …Photo by Paul Greenwood – CameraSport via Getty Images
Defender who left Rangers for £800k in 2018 challenged to secure Ibrox return this season
Rangers fans will remember Welsh international left-back Declan John from a brief stint with the Ibrox side in 2017/18.
The former Cardiff City left-back originally joined Rangers on loan from the Welsh outfit and was such a success the club made the deal permanent six months later.
Only a few months on from when Declan John signed that permanent deal at Rangers, the introduction of Steven Gerrard to the club’s management spelled the beginning of the end for the defender.
But now John could be set to return to Ibrox this season after signing a short-term deal with one of Rangers’ Scottish Premiership rivals.
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Steven Naismith of Heart of Midlothian vies with Declan John of Rangers during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Hearts …
Declan John has signed a short-term deal with St Mirren until January following the controversial release of defender Jaden Brown.
The 29-year-old left-back joins St Mirren after being released by Bolton Wanderers in the summer following a spell on loan at Salford City.
St Mirren Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Declan John on a short-term deal until January.
Welcome to Saints, @declanjohn7!
— St Mirren FC (@saintmirrenfc) November 12, 2024
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It will now be up to the former Rangers defender to win a longer-term contract in Paisley with Saints boss Steven Robinson challenging John to make a big impression.
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“Declan is here on a short-term deal with a view to extending depending on how it goes,” Robinson told the official St Mirren website.
“The circumstances we find ourselves in means we’re very short of defence cover. Declan comes in with a vast amount of experience.
“He’s played at some very high levels and obviously been up in Scotland before as well so we’re very lucky that we’ve been able to get him in.
“We’ve seen his quality in his first couple of days in training. He’s a talented boy, is very good technically but he hasn’t played a lot of football in recent months so that’s something we need to look at and try to get him up to speed.
“To add to the squad with the quality and background Declan has, I believe we are very lucky at this stage of the season.”
Rangers are set to travel to St Mirren on Scottish Premiership duties on the 26th of December, with St Mirren travelling to Rangers again on the 22nd of February.
It means John will need to win a longer-term contract with St Mirren if he hopes to make a return to Rangers next year.
Ex-Gers star ‘delighted’ to be back in Scotland
This is Declan John’s first time back in Scotland since leaving Rangers in the summer of 2018, the left-back signing an £800k deal with Swansea City.
But things haven’t worked out for the defender south of the border.
John was farmed out on loan to Sunderland and then Bolton whilst at Swansea, eventually moving to the Trotters permanently in 2021.
Now back in Scotland with St Mirren, Declan John is determined to make a difference with the Saints and says he’s ‘absolutely delighted’ to wind up in Paisley.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be here,” said John. “It’s been a crazy few days.
“I came up on Thursday, trained on Friday and went to watch the game on Saturday which was a great win for the boys. I’ve enjoyed it and I’m really looking forward to getting back into training.
“From walking in, everything has been so positive and you can feel that in the changing room. It feels like a really good place to be.”
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