What Rangers fans can expect from ex-Bournemouth duo Jack Simpson and Nnamdi Ofoborh

Defender Simpson penned a four-and-a-half-year pre-contract deal at Ibrox before making a deadline day move to join Steven Gerrard’s side immediately.   

Midfielder Ofoborh put pen to paper on a four-year pre-contract and will join the Light Blues in the summer after spending the remainder of this season on-loan at English Championship side Wycombe.  

Simpson in action for his former side

Both players arrive on the Ibrox books in a relatively unknown capacity outwith their Cherries circle. So, after their transfer deals were completed, Herald and Times Sport sat down with Bournemouth Echo sports reporter Tom Crocker to hear what Rangers fans can expect from the pair.  

What kind of player is Simpson/Ofoborh? What are their strengths and weaknesses?  

“Jack Simpson is a centre-back, who can also fill in at left-back. Given the way Bournemouth play, he’s always been encouraged to be a ball-playing centre-back. He was caught out a couple of times in the Premier League due to a lack of pace, but the fact Eddie Howe often called on him for games against big opponents, playing in a back three, does say something about how highly he was rated.  

“In terms of his improvement, it’s tricky as he has never really had a regular run of games to judge it. He really needed a loan spell and nearly went out a couple of times, but deals fell down at the last minute due to other injuries in the squad meaning Jack had to stay and provide cover. He did get his best spell in the side quite recently though and showed he was more than capable of holding his own in the Championship.  

“As for Nnamdi Ofoborh, he is somebody we’ve not seen too much of in a Bournemouth shirt, something which has at times frustrated fans a little bit. He had always previously been known as a central midfielder, but this season has more often been used as a centre-back in a back three. He certainly prefers to play in midfield though.  

Ofoborh will join Rangers in the summer

“Ofoborh got a chance at Cherries in the 2019-20 pre-season and really impressed. He was then sent out on loan to Wycombe Wanderers in League One and proved to be a hit, scoring in the play-offs and helping them seal promotion at Wembley.  

“He then came back and looked like he’d get chances under new boss Jason Tindall, again doing well in pre-season and starting cup games against Manchester City and Crystal Palace. But he’s struggled for game time in the league. But he’s shown from his time in the academy and at Wycombe, he has a decent strike on him and gets around the midfield well.” 

What are they like as characters?  

“Nnamdi certainly seems to be a lively character, who is always smiling. Eddie Howe always praised how hard-working he was, explaining how he’s always last off the training pitch every day and how popular he was with the first-team group.  

“Simpson has naturally developed into a bit of a role model for the academy. There are a lot of youngsters in the Cherries first-team squad now and they can look to Simpson as someone who has been through that journey already. He seems like a very level-headed character.” 

Are you surprised they have made the move to Rangers?  

“In truth, I’m not sure either have really done enough to warrant a move to the Premier League, but that’s not to say they couldn’t later on in their careers. Simpson has obviously played in the Premier League, becoming Bournemouth’s first academy graduate to do so, but never held down a spot in the side.  

“They both need regular football. As mentioned, Ofoborh has shown he can do well at League One level and Simpson has this season shown consistently he is comfortable in the Championship. I’ll confess to not watching a great deal of Scottish football recently, so it’s hard to know exactly how the standard compares to the various levels in England, but Rangers are still a massive club which will be a big step in their careers.” 

Do you think the chance to work with Steven Gerrard was a particular attraction for them both?  

“I’d say so. Simpson is a former England under-21 international and will obviously have watched Gerrard growing up. You can’t help but be impressed by how well Rangers have done this season, so that is bound to have played a part. Cardiff were definitely in for Simpson too and he turned them down, which would have offered a good step at a good level in England.  

“Other cubs have been in for Ofoborh too, including Charlton which would’ve been really close to home for him. His family plays a massive part in his life – he still lives in digs in Bournemouth but travels up to see them in London whenever he can. So the fact he looks like turning down some moves own south to head to Glasgow says a lot.  

“And of course, who doesn’t want to play in the Champions League!”  

Both are fairly low risk signings for Rangers due to the costs involved. Do you see their value rising significantly and them eventually returning to England and making Rangers a healthy profit?  

“I think both certainly have the potential to go for decent fees in the future. It will be really interesting to see how Simpson in particular gets on. He’s been a part of the first-team squad at Bournemouth for a long time now, but aged 24 has played just 35 senior games, which is not a lot at all.  

“There is obviously talent there, but he really needs a regular run of games, at whatever level that may be. Players and coaches have always spoken really highly about Simpson and it was hoped he would be the future of the club at centre-back, but it’s never quite worked out like that. Having to try and dislodge Nathan Ake, probably the best defender the club has ever had, from his position didn’t help!  

“As for Ofoborh, his potential is exciting. Fans will be sad to see him leave and he was well liked by Wycombe, so he’ll have suitors even if the Rangers move doesn’t quite work out. But he has good pedigree from his days in various academies across London and also playing for Nigeria under-20s, so if all goes to plan, I could certainly see him as a regular in the Championship in England in future and possibly even higher.” 

Rangers have been strong in defence and midfield all season. Do both players have they correct attitude if they were forced to bide their time before getting a chance?  

“I’d say so, yes. Simpson has had to be extremely patient at Cherries, even when the path to the first team looked quite far away. You’d like to think he’d have more chance of at least getting some opportunities at Rangers, but during his spell out of the team in the past year or so, Jason Tindall has been keen to praise how hard he’s been working on various aspects of his game to be ready for when got his chance. And that showed with his recent spell in the team.  

“And as mentioned earlier, Ofoborh is a determined character with an extremely hard-working attitude. He’s taken a few knockbacks on the way already in his career and I think would relish the opportunity at Rangers.”