Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has confirmed which of his loan stars he wants to keep beyond the end of the season.
Ryan Kent, Ovie Ejaria, Lassana Coulibaly, and Joe Worrall are all on Gerrard’s summer hitlist for next season. He’s also confirmed that he hopes to put the wheels in motion for the deals in January.
Kent, Ejaria, and Coulibaly are turning into fan favourites already this season. A combination of flair, pace, and aggression from the trio have made Rangers a much more solid outfit under Gerrard. Supporters certainly won’t be disappointed to hear that the club are thinking of going in for all three permanently.
Worrall only made his Rangers debut in the 2-2 draw at Villarreal. The Nottingham Forest star, however, put in a very strong display and deserved all the praise going.
Speaking in this morning’s Daily Record, Gerrard has confirmed his plans on the quartet.
“We have to be respectful to their parent clubs but the players you’ve mentioned are already on my list. In an ideal situation, they would all be on four or five-year deals already here at Rangers.
“With regards to Ejaria and Kent, hopefully I am still in Jurgen Klopp’s good books for the foreseeable future and Liverpool can keep on winning games. Maybe there will be some scope to do something there because we all certainly rate these two players very highly. If you are asking me if I would want to keep all four of these players for next year, I’d sign them all right now.”
“I’d sign them all right now”
We’re still yet to see a bit more from Worrall, and therefore supporters wouldn’t be overly-certain with that signing. The early signs are extremely positive however, and he proved he’ll be a reliable deputy when Nikola Katic or Connor Goldson are out.
In terms of their contracts, Gerrard wouldn’t have much trouble nabbing Worrall or Kent. The former will be into the last year of his deal next summer, whilst Kent will be out of contract.
But the club could run into complications trying to seal the Coulibaly and Ejaria deals. The Angers man is tied to the French side until 2021, whilst Ejaria is just off the back of a long-term deal at Anfield. Both men would certainly require substantial transfer fees.
Interestingly, there was no place on Gerrard’s list of praise for Umar Sadiq. The on-loan Roma striker is the only other player Rangers have on loan, but he hasn’t featured much since arriving at Ibrox.
Not that Rangers supporters will disagree with his omission, however. In general, there would be delight amongst the fan-base if Gerrard managed to wrap up those deals.
