Former Rangers manager Alex McLeish thinks that incumbent boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst will make an effort to keep Scott Arfield at the club. 

The lowdown

Arfield is among the Rangers players who are in the final year of their contracts at Ibrox. The £16,000-per-week Canadian joined the club on a free transfer ahead of the 2018/19 season, having left English Premier League side Burnley. He has gone on to make 163 appearances for the Glasgow outfit, scoring 31 goals and providing 18 assists.

This season, the 33-year-old has featured 23 times across all competitions, but only made six starts in the Premiership and one in the Europa League (via Transfermarkt).

The latest

Sky Sports pundit McLeish thinks that both the Rangers team and the manager 'appreciate' Arfield's application and reckons that Van Bronckhorst will push for the Canadian's contract to be extended beyond the summer.

"Let's be honest, he's a very trustworthy player, but it seems that Giovanni sees something in Scott that is important to the team," he told Football Insider.

"He's a grafter, he'll go forward, he'll check back, he'll cover people. He does a lot of the things that we deem ugly.

"He's also got a knack of getting forward and getting into good positions from deep positions.

"I think Scott Arfield is a player who the whole team really appreciate. I believe he'll definitely try and nail him down and keep a guy like that in the squad."

The verdict

How has Arfield done when he has played this season? While scoring two league goals, he has also been guilty of missing five 'big chances', so his goal return should really be higher. His creative contribution has also been limited at just 0.6 key passes per 90 minutes.

However, as McLeish suggests, it might be intangible attributes, like covering for team-mates, which make him so valuable to the club.

The Canadian will turn 34 next season, so perhaps the wisest course of action for the club is a short-term deal on slightly reduced wages. Whether Arfield accepts that is another matter.

In other news, read this injury expert's Ryan Jack warning.