Rangers have made a potentially title-deciding signing in Oscar Cortes with former Celtic ace Aiden McGeady full of praise for a man who has exploded out of the blocks under Philippe Clement at Ibrox.
There was a moment, early on in Saturday’s Scottish Cup fifth round tie with Ayr United, which showed exactly what two of Rangers’ January additions are all about. First, Mohamed Diomande attempted to hook the ball in the net with an acrobatic volley and, after that failed, Oscar Cortes tried something similar, albeit also in vain.
Clearly, while both efforts did not hit the net, Diomande and Cortes are hear to entertain as well as impact. The latter, in particular, has done his fair share of that since his loan move from RC Lens in the final few hours of the January window.
Oscar Cortes impressing at Rangers already
If Cortes was lively off the bench against Aberdeen, he was electrifying here, terrorising Scott Brown’s defence while coming within a whisker of a maiden Gers goal on his first start for the Glasgow giants.
And, with there barely enough room for a cigarette paper between Rangers and Old Firm rivals Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, Cortes is one of those signings who could prove to be the difference between success and coming a very-close second.
“It is very. Very tight,” veteran McGeady, who now plays for Ayr but was left on the bench at Ibrox, tells the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast. “Celtic have that experience of having been there and done it, and hopefully it will be the deciding factor come the end of the season.
“There is a lot of football left to be played and Rangers have made some good signings. I was particularly impressed with the left winger, Cortes. He looks a good player. Very sharp and direct.
“There has been much said about Celtic’s transfer dealings so far. But a lot of the top players come to the fore in adversity,” adds the 37-year-old, a three-time Premiership champion with The Hoops.
“It was the same at the last Celtic and Rangers game (Kyogo Furuhashi scoring the winner in December). Everybody was talking about Celtic being quite poorly and Rangers were favourites. Celtic played very well and won that game.
“It is probably going to be one of the most exciting finishes to the league season for a long time.”
Title race could go down to the wire
While Cortes and Diomande caught the eye vs Ayr, it was Rangers’ third January addition who put the game to bed shortly before half-time.
Fabio Silva doubled his tally since joining on loan from Wolves with a sharp finish.
