Rangers fans fear Joe Rothwell repeat after Dan Neil update

Rangers completed their fifth signing of the summer on Wednesday as Championship specialist Dan Neil moved to Ibrox on a free transfer.

The 24-year-old midfielder departed Sunderland at the end of his contract after struggling to break into the first team after their promotion to the Premier League.

The Black Cats’ former captain helped guide them from League One to the English top-flight and also oversaw Ipswich Town’s promotion last season while on loan.

Rangers announced on Wednesday that the midfielder has signed a three-year deal with the club, ready for the 2026-27 campaign.

However, many of the Ibrox faithful are not convinced with the signing, believing that Neil is not good enough.

Many fear that the signing of Neil could be a repeat of the capture of Joe Rothwell last summer, who was a massive flop at the Old Firm club.

Rangers fans fear Dan Neil will be the new Joe Rothwell

Rothwell’s stint at Rangers last season was simply awful.

Despite helping to guide Southampton and Leeds United to promotion in back-to-back campaigns, he simply did not have the quality for the Scottish Premiership.

The 31-year-old was eventually dropped by Danny Rohl before he was sold to Sheffield United in the winter window, ending a dreadful run at Ibrox.

Many Rangers fans fear that they may have made the same mistake after capturing another Championship specialist, and took to X to express their frustration.

How good is Neil?

Despite many Rangers fans’ reservations about the signing of Neil, the midfielder has plenty of solid stats from his time at Ipswich Town last season.

According to Fotmob on 1 July, he was averaging a 0.12 xA, 6.13 duels won, a 63.9 per cent aerial duel won rate, 1.77 fouls won, 3.27 tackles and 0.95 interceptions in the Championship per 90 minutes.

If this can be replicated in the Scottish Premiership, it could go a long way to finally fixing Rangers’ leaky backline, which plagued much of their 2025-26 campaign, as they missed out on Champions League football.

However, it remains to be seen how Neil will get on in Scotland this season as Derek McInnes looks to build a team capable of winning the Premiership title.