Ahead of the January transfer window, many people are discussing who Steven Gerrard should bring into the club.
One of the big questions, however, is just how much money should the Rangers manager truly get?
The most important thing the Rangers board can do next month is back the manager. They’re keeping in touch with Celtic and currently sit above them in the Premiership table.
Despite the fact neither half of the Old Firm have looked convincing over the course, that doesn’t overly matter. The fact is that Rangers are nearer to Celtic now than they ever have been since dropping down the leagues. The board, therefore, need to take advantage of that.
In the summer, they certainly did back the new man. Gerrard was allowed to bring in a grand total of 15 recruits over the course of the first window of the season. This resulted in around £4.5million – £5.5million being spent – those are figures coming directly from the Rangers manager.
Rangers also only made transfer fees for two of the eight summer departures that left the club permanently. Those fees came from the sales of Josh Windass and Declan John respectively.
Rangers have to be sensible about January spending
So whilst backing the manager is essential, Rangers have to be careful about how much they do spend in January. How much does Gerrard truly deserve to splash out on players?
So far, it’s fair to say that only five of Rangers’ summer signings have been confirmed as successful. Allan McGregor, Connor Goldson, Borna Barisic, Scott Arfield, and Ryan Kent have impressed. Eros Grezda and Nikola Katic have had their moments, but are yet to truly convince.
This is one of the covered up occurrances of the season so far. Not many of Gerrard’s signings have particularly been on the money. Ovie Ejaria and Umar Sadiq have already departed. Kyle Lafferty, Joe Worrall, and Jon Flanagan have been notably poor if we’re being kind to them.
But Gerrard has shown enough in his first six months as boss to merit being given another crack at a window in January.
Rangers, however, cannot just bow down to whatever the manager demands. They have to remain sensible with their funds, and make sure the right player is being signed for the right sum.
So how much should Rangers give Gerrard in January? What would be enough, or should be enough, for the club to reach their goals? Let us know your thoughts.
