James Tavernier Set for Maccabi Tel Aviv Move

James Tavernier is preparing to close the book on one of Rangers’ great modern careers, with the captain set to fly to Israel today for a medical ahead of a move to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The deal is not yet officially sealed by the Israeli champions, but the direction of travel is clear. Tavernier, 34, is on the brink of swapping Ibrox for the Ligat Ha'al, with reports in Israel suggesting he will earn around €1 million per season.

For a player who has spent 11 years in Glasgow, it is more than just a late-career move. It is a full-scale change of stage.

Miller’s man

At the heart of this transfer sits Kenny Miller. The Maccabi Tel Aviv manager has not stumbled upon Tavernier by chance; he has gone after him.

Miller and Tavernier shared a dressing room at Rangers for three seasons. He knows the right-back’s character, his habits, his influence. According to Israeli journalist Ben Green, Miller personally identified Tavernier as a key piece in his rebuild and has pushed to get the deal done.

Speaking recently to the Israeli press, Miller did little to hide his admiration. “I know him well, he’s a very high-level player, his name came up in the last month,” he said. It was a nod to their shared past and a clear signal of intent for Maccabi’s future.

A system built for a captain

This is not just about adding another experienced defender. In Israel, there is already talk of Maccabi reshaping their tactical approach to fit Tavernier.

One option on the table is a move towards a wing-back system, designed to release him higher up the pitch. It makes sense. Tavernier has never been a conventional full-back; he has been a relentless outlet, a set-piece threat, and a de facto playmaker from the right.

His numbers at Rangers underline that. Across 11 years at Ibrox, the former captain scored an astonishing 152 goals – a figure that would be impressive for a striker, let alone a defender. Penalties, free-kicks, open play runs beyond the winger: Tavernier has done it all.

In Europe, he left his mark too. During Rangers’ run to the Europa League final in Seville in 2022, he finished as the competition’s top scorer with seven goals, driving Steven Gerrard’s side and then Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team through some of the club’s most memorable continental nights in decades.

Legacy leaving Glasgow

Tavernier’s Rangers story is etched deep into the club’s recent history.

He captained the team to the 2020/21 Scottish Premiership title, the season that ended Celtic’s bid for 10 in a row and delivered an unbeaten league campaign under Gerrard. Add to that a Scottish Cup, a Premier Sports Cup, a Challenge Cup and a Championship title, and the honours list tells only part of the tale.

In 2023, he was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame, a formal recognition of what most supporters already knew: Tavernier had become one of the defining figures of the post-liquidation era, the man who helped drag the club back to the summit.

Now, after more than a decade at Ibrox, he stands on the edge of a new chapter.

New star in Tel Aviv

In Israel, anticipation is building. Local media have described Tavernier as one of the most notable players ever to move to the Ligat Ha'al, a marquee arrival for a league eager to raise its profile.

Maccabi Tel Aviv are not stopping with one big name either. The club are active at the end of the transfer window, with Gabi Kanikovsky returning from Ferencvaros to bolster the squad. But it is Tavernier’s imminent arrival that has captured the imagination.

If the medical goes as expected and the paperwork follows, Maccabi will gain a captain, a serial winner and a defender with a forward’s instinct. Rangers, in turn, will say goodbye to a Hall of Famer who has defined an era.

The next time James Tavernier leads a team out, it may not be at Ibrox. It could be under the Tel Aviv lights, in a different shade of yellow and blue, with a new league watching to see if he can shape its story the way he shaped Scotland’s.