James Tavernier is an English right-back born in Bradford, England on 31 October 1991. He has been playing some compelling football of late for Rangers Football Club in the first-tier Scottish League. He started with Newcastle Reserves back in 2010. The dynamic right-back has been producing some jaw-dropping numbers since the start of last season with 29 goals and 30 assists. Tavernier is a late bloomer. He has been around professional football for a while but has not been able to make it big so far. But things are getting better for him, and it can only get better.
Tavernier started from Leeds academy and started professionally with Newcastle. At Newcastle, he spent most of his time on loans at six lower-level clubs. He had to switch between clubs and had a very volatile start to his career. He joined his current team – Rangers in 2015, winning a double in the very first season. After playing for three full years, at the beginning of the 2018-19 season, management handed him the captaincy band. And since then, he has only grown from strength to strength. He has managed to enhance his reputation with every game, turning heads all around.
Tavernier always liked to put in crosses. However, only in recent times has his ability turned into numbers. For a player that plays right-back most of the time, he has no significant weaknesses. He likes putting in crosses and taking set-pieces and is very good at them. He makes incisive passes and makes progressive runs from the right flank. PFA Scotland Players’ Player of the Year 2020/21 winner has a good head on his shoulders. Meanwhile, he has very good fundamentals of a defender that includes tackles and positioning. All in all, he is a player at the top of his game at the moment. And if he keeps doing what he has been doing, it is only a matter of time before some big club pouches him, provided he decides to leave the club.
Tavernier is 30 years old at the moment, which is considered the age for peaking of a defender. And if his recent track record is to be considered and he is to follow the suit, we can expect some great things from him at the very top level. What more works in his favor is that the top teams in the world right now boast quality backs – left-backs and right-backs have been the recipe for success –be it Liverpool or Manchester City or Chelsea or Bayern Munich. It will be interesting to see how his career unfolds from here on because he is certainly the one to watch out for.
