Rangers will always need to scour the pre-contract market as a cost effective way to provide new players, especially under the sort of constraints that Philippe Clement is working with.
The manager is only at the beginning of a squad rebuild and, as seen at Ibrox against Hearts, there is still a long way to go.
One area that has been neglected is the domestic market, every successful Rangers team has had a core of Scots and homegrown talent and Nils Koppen should shop local with these three, soon to be available, SPFL stars.
Rangers SPFL pre-contract options in January
Lawrence Shankland
Starting with the most obvious one, with a new contract still not signed, Lawrence Shankland is, finally, reasonable value for money on a pre-contract agreement in January as contract talks with Hearts stall.
As seen by his display against Rangers, his all round game is massively under appreciated and he is more than the finished that his goals suggest he is.
Despite having a difficult season in terms of goals, Shankland was still Hearts biggest threat at Ibrox, and should have had an assist to his name.
He had the sort of involvement that Rangers should be getting out of Desserrs.
Shankland wouldn’t be first choice, but what he would do, is allow Hamza Igamane more time to develop and for Koppen to sell Dessers and bring in a few million pound before it is too late.
A lot of teams will look past his overall game with 44 goal involvements in 74 games for the club.
It is the sort of signing that just makes sense, financially and in terms of squad balance.
Jack MacKenzie
Jack Mackenzie proved exactly what he is capable of in the recent defeat to Aberdeen, the Kirk Broadfoot-esque left-back looks more like a centre-half when he is marauding down the flank, however, his crossing and ability on the ball suggests that he would be just as comfortable in an attack-minded team.
Rangers are well equipped in that area, however, Ridvan Yilmaz just can’t stay fit and, as in Dessers situation, money could be made as well as a saving on the wage bill.
James Wilson
James Wilson is a player who not many will have heard of, but the 17-year old has a big future ahead of him.
A goal on his Edinburgh derby demonstrates that he can handle the big occasion and Rangers should always be looking for the next big thing domestically, two goals in less than 45 league minutes this season suggests that he is on an upward trajectory.
Sign him, send him out on loan, give him games and avoid a repeat of the situation that saw Rory Wilson leave for Aston Villa.
Rangers make plan to shop local after Koppen announcement
Rangers are aware of the problem in the squad about the lack of homegrown talent and it is something that Koppen has addressed recently.
According to the Gers recruitment chief, the plan is to return to a more domestic transfer strategy, as well as shopping in far flung fields:
“We have to be aggressive in the youth market to try to get the best young players in the country and keep investing in that,” explains Koppen.
“Because the strong core of Scottish players should come from your own academy. And sporadically, you buy somebody from other clubs, like with Connor Barron.
“It’s one of our objectives, to try and sign one player a season from another Scottish club if they’re there and the deal makes sense and it fits the plan.”
Regardless of where players are bought, they need to be able to show a desire to play for the badge on the chest and “get” what Rangers is all about.
The club’s history is littered with players who maybe weren’t the most talented but who made a lasting impression on the support.
Maybe one of these will be the next.
