St Mirren striker Alex Jakubiak has delivered an exciting verdict on reported Rangers target Jack Tucker, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
Earlier in the week, the Scottish Sun reported that the Gers were one of the multiple teams tracking 20-year-old Tucker, who plays in EFL League One for Gillingham as a centre-back.
Celtic and Premier League clubs Aston Villa and West Ham were others credited with an interest in the player who is contracted until 2023 and has been valued at £1.5m.
Jakubiak is currently on loan at St Mirren from Watford, but he spent the first half of the season at the Priestfield Stadium and had high praise for the reported Gers target.
“Jack’s going to have a big future, I’ve got no doubts about that,” he said, as quoted by the Scottish Sun. “I rate him very highly. He’s a very good player.”
“I played a lot of games with him and he really impressed me. Jack’s good on the ball, but I think his strongest feature is the fact he just wants to defend. That’s his priority. He never wants to be beaten.
“He has great recovery and sound positioning. He’s very competitive and strikers know he’s about. This has been his first real season and he’s responded. He’s a very confident lad and for his age he shows no fear.”
Verdict
As Jakubiak has eluded to, Tucker is very inexperienced in senior football. Prior to this season, he had little more than two loan spells in non-league under his belt.
However, he’s gone on to become an important part of a Gillingham side who are currently on a 15 match unbeaten run in the league.
That run began when Jakubiak was still there and he certainly thinks highly of his former teammate.
Given Rangers’ current defensive woes, some fans will be encouraged by rumours of defensive targets.
However, the main thing that has been lacking in recent times is an experienced head, with Filip Helander sidelined through injury.
In Nikola Katic and George Edmundson as well as Academy players like Lewis Mayo and Leon King, the Gers already have plenty of talent in this area, so do they really need to splash out on another relatively raw prospect?