Khvica Kvaratskhelia might be the toast of Naples, but his Napoli switch highlights to Rangers the value of transfer risk against reward amid links to Malik Tillman.
Former Ibrox captain Craig Moore claimed last week that before the Georgian’s switch to Serie A, the winger was offered to Rangers and Southampton.
Both may well be ruing their decision not to pounce on the player, with Napoli’s £10m now looking a snip amid £65m Khvica Kvaratskhelia links to the likes of Real Madrid.
But whilst the original transfer fee is a sizeable one, and one Rangers are always unlikely to pay straight off the bat, the outcome of the winger’s situation suggests the club needs to take more risks in the window.
Rangers fans are out protesting the domestic downturn at the club over the last 18 months, with the club’s recruitment and sporting director Ross Wilson right at the centre of things.
Pressure on Rangers board to deliver
There is a perception that Rangers have failed to properly invest in the side, instead holding on to aging stars and investing in crocks who have delivered little over the last three pre-January windows.
And they have a massive point.
The club reportedly slept on three players in particular; Joey Veerman, now of PSV, Danilho Doekhi, now of Union Berlin, and Andreas Skov Olsen, now of Club Brugge.
We don’t know how close the club was singing these players, if at all, but something tells us that had Rangers landed them then we would not be talking about Celtic being given a nine-point head start to two in a row post-World Cup.
At the very least, the delivery of such talented players would’ve galvanised a worried support and helped catapult us to the next level. Giovanni van Bronckhorst probably wouldn’t have gotten sacked.
There are also those pretty massive conversations about the upcoming summer, the club’s choice to delay an evolution over the last few seasons coming back to bite the directorate sorely.
We were humiliated in the Champions League and are clearly second best to Celtic at the moment, even if injuries have played a huge part.
Rangers must avoid Kvaratskhelia 2.0 with Malik Tillman
Khvica Kvaratskhelia might’ve been an unrealistic target, but if Rangers had invested in the squad for genuine starters then perhaps we wouldn’t be in this ominous position.
It will reportedly take big investment to sign Bayern Munich loanee Malik Tillman too – a fee of around £6.2m was mooted by Fabrizio Romano via Caught Offside – with all eyes on the Board’s move in this regard.
With so much of the club’s squad needing overhauled, from the goalkeeper to the strikers, there is some conjecture over whether or not it’s wise to splash so much of the budget on the USA international.
When you combined this with the club being put on an FFP watchlist and the Gers drive for sustainability it makes for an interesting situation and you’ll forgive a few for a lack of confidence in a quick fix.
But if Rangers do let Malik Tillman slip through their fingers, perhaps it will prove to be a Khvica Kvaratskhelia 2.0 and have fans asking why the club didn’t take the risk on such a precocious young talent.
Meanwhile, Oliver McBurnie is back amongst the goals, and then some.