As the turn of the year and the start of the January transfer window approach, we’ve had a go at ranking the contributions of Rangers’ summer signings so far at Ibrox.
Only four new players were brought in during the summer window: Nnamdi Ofoborh and Fashion Sakala had earlier signed pre-contract agreements, while John Lundstram and Juninho Bacuna joined in July and August respectively.
None of the quartet have become guaranteed starters yet, but some have made more of an impact than others.
Fashion Sakala – B+
At this stage, Sakala is looking like the best signing of the lot.
The Zambia international took a while to settle in, with a persistent groin injury not helping his cause.
He often struggled to stay onside and looked desperate in front of goal but he produced one of the standout individual performances of the season so far at Motherwell in late October and has looked a different player since.
His first competitive goal against the same opposition a month earlier was worth a Premiership point and a good header to make it 3-1 at Livingston in late November settled a few nerves.
John Lundstram – B-
The ex-Sheffield United star made a bad start to his Ibrox career, with his needless first-half red card in the Europa League qualifying playoff against Alashkert getting him on the wrong side of the supporters.
He bounced back, though, and put together a strong run from late September through most of October, with a dominant performance at Dundee his best so far for the club.
He hasn’t done enough to break into GvB’s strongest XI yet but could be a big player during the second half of the season.
Juninho Bacuna – C
The Curacao international has shown glimpses of quality since joining from Huddersfield Town but he didn’t do enough to break into the team under Steven Gerrard and he’s barely featured since GvB’s appointment.
He hasn’t produced any horror displays, but several months after his arrival, many Rangers fans are still largely in the dark about Bacuna’s strengths.
Given that he’s only on a two-year deal, the 24-year-old must really push on during the second half of the season if he’s going to make a success of his Rangers career.
Nnamdi Ofoborh – N/A
Given that he’s still awaiting his Rangers debut, Ofoborh has to be ranked last on this list but it would be unfair to give him a rating as the reason for his lack of impact is outside of his control.
The latest update given on the 22-year-old by GvB suggested that further tests were being carried out on his suspected heart problem.
Hopefully, they will come back clear, and the former Bournemouth midfielder will be able to start training at some stage in 2022.
