Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has hinted that Bongani Zungu’s time at the club has come to an end after he breached the coronavirus lockdown rules in Scotland.
Zungu was caught alongside four academy players partying in Glasgow last Sunday, which has apparently hampered his chances of staying at the club following his season-long loan from Amiens in October.
After revealing the players’ identities on Wednesday, Gerrard said he was ‘let down’ by the five players who have been consequently dropped from the first-team.
Rangers stretched their dominance and unbeaten streak in the Premiership to 30 matches on Sunday with a 4-1 win over Dundee United.
When Gerrard was asked if Zungu’s chances of securing a permanent deal are gone, he said per Glasgow Live: “I think that would be fair to say, yes.
Next Match
"That will take care of itself and we’ll move forward with the players who have remained professional and want to be part of a successful team.
“We spoke as a group and I explained the situation to them.
“We’re at such an important time of the season with the fixtures coming up that we can’t be worrying about it or letting our focus slide.”
Zungu has played 12 Premiership games for the Gers this season, and he only made his first league start against Hamilton Academical a week before the incident.
Earlier this year, the 28-year-old revealed his admiration for Gerrard and he said the former Liverpool legend compared himself to him after he arrived in Glasgow last year.
"We call him the gaffer. He's very demanding. I followed him as a youngster and when I signed he said he saw something in me that was like him. That was very humbling,” he said.
"He's a very demanding coach who takes every game seriously and pays a lot of attention to detail. He likes players who are humble - you need to be a gentleman.
"Off the pitch, we must mind what we say to the media, mind what we post, he's very strict and knows everything.
"I've been there a few months now and I've learned so much from him. As a midfielder, we do have one-on-one discussions and I ask him about movement.
"There are coaches that when they enter the dressing room, you feel their presence and that's him.
"He's a very good person and extremely professional so I am very happy to have the opportunity to work with him.”
