Super Eagles defender Emmanuel Fernandez has been voted Rangers’ Men’s Player of the Year for the 2025-26 season, completing a remarkable rise that has seen him go from English League One football to becoming the most popular player at Ibrox in the space of ten months.
The Glasgow club confirmed the award on their official website following the 2026 Player Awards ceremony held on Sunday evening. Fernandez collected the final prize of the night, voted for by Rangers supporters, ahead of nominees that included captain James Tavernier, goalkeeper Jack Butland, Tottenham loanee Mikey Moore, and midfielder Nicolas Raskin. “In his first season at Rangers, supporters voted Emmanuel Fernandez as Men’s Player of the Year as he collected the final award of the evening. Since coming into the team, Fernandez has gone from strength to strength with commanding performances in defence, also showing his threat in set-piece situations,” the club wrote.
The 24-year-old centre-back only arrived at Ibrox last summer from Peterborough United in a deal worth around £2.9 million. At the time, sections of the Peterborough support labelled him “dead wood” and questioned why a Scottish giant would spend millions on a player from England’s third tier. Fernandez has spent the last ten months making those comments look foolish.
His numbers this season have been outstanding. In 23 Scottish Premiership appearances, the London-born Nigerian defender has scored five goals and played a central role in 12 clean sheets. He has also featured in the Europa League and scored in the Scottish League Cup against Alloa Athletic. His consistency saw him become the only Rangers player named in the PFA Scotland Premiership Team of the Year for 2025-26, a selection voted for by fellow professionals across the division.
Fernandez also collected Rangers’ Player of the Month award for January, a month in which the Gers conceded just one goal.
On the international stage, Fernandez’s rise has been just as swift. He received his first Super Eagles call-up in March for friendlies against Iran and Jordan, making his debut off the bench in a 2-1 win over Iran on March 27. Four days later, he was handed his first start against Jordan and marked the occasion with a goal, firing home after latching onto a Bright Osayi-Samuel delivery. He now has two senior caps and one goal for Nigeria.
Former Super Eagles defender Juwon Oshaniwa has already backed Fernandez to become a mainstay in the national team setup. “He has all the attributes to succeed at this level. Strong in the air, calm on the ball, and reads the game well,” Oshaniwa told Punch.
The defender’s performances have not gone unnoticed beyond Scotland. Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, and Feyenoord have all been credited with interest. Rangers are reportedly prepared to demand a club-record fee in the region of £40 million should any suitor come calling this summer. Fernandez, for his part, has played down the speculation. “I haven’t heard anything. I am happy here and I still have four years on my contract,” he told the Herald Scotland.
Rangers manager Danny Rohl also hopes to keep his defensive rock. “Fernandez has been outstanding. We will do everything to keep him,” Rohl said during the awards ceremony.
At the same event, Jack Butland was named Men’s Players’ Player of the Year, Mikey Moore collected the Young Player award, and Youssef Chermiti won Goal of the Season for his overhead kick against Celtic.
While For Fernandez, the award is the latest milestone in a career that started in non-league football with Ramsgate and included a spell at Peterborough before Rangers took a chance. On Sunday night, that chance was vindicated in front of a full room in Glasgow, and a new Super Eagles star now holds the crown at one of Britain’s biggest clubs.
