Rangers’ January plans are as exciting for supporters as they will be for Steven Gerrard.
The club are apparently looking to bring in four fresh faces to boost the squad in the Winter break. The targets apparently include two midfielders with one being a creator, with a forward also on the list.
Speculation will immediately turn to who Rangers could go for. We at Rangers News have offered a suggestion or two in the past, but who are the players Rangers want to upgrade on?
Here, we combine the news we’ve been getting about Rangers’ January plans combined with their current form to determine who could see fresh competition in the Winter break.
Umar Sadiq
Let’s start with the obvious – Umar Sadiq won’t have much of a future at Ibrox at this point.
He was given his big chance against Aberdeen early this month in the Betfred Cup semi-finals. Losing the game was bad enough, but his dive late on when he could’ve scored ensured a bitter taste from Rangers fans towards Sadiq.
His return to Roma is surely inevitable, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if it comes in January. The initial deal was that the lanky forward stayed in Glasgow for the season. But with just four appearances to his name and one start, his time is coming to an end.
Any replacement for Sadiq has to represent reliability. Someone that can be trusted should an incident occur where Alfredo Morelos or Kyle Lafferty are unavailable. Sadiq never was that, and never will be.
Despite Lafferty’s failings this season, it’s important Rangers replace Sadiq more than anyone else. He’s offering nothing, and that’s unacceptable for anyone in the Gers squad.
Ovie Ejaria
Ovie Ejaria hasn’t done much wrong at Ibrox. He’s growing into his role as a creative midfielder, and has a great stride on him when he gets going.
He’s proving to many that he could indeed have the skill to play for Rangers. The big question, however, is whether he’s good enough for a title-charge this season.
He’s played in 22 matches for Rangers this season. That shows the trust that Steven Gerrard has in his on-loan Liverpool man. Racking up that amount of appearances before November is a massive success.
But consistency can still sometimes defy the youngster. At just 20-years of age, that’s highly understandable. If Rangers want to catch Celtic, however, they need to have a more consistent performer in there.
Despite being a creator, Ejaria has managed just one goal and two assists this season. Those stats need to be better in the second half of the season, so nobody could blame Gerrard if he upgraded on the Liverpool man.
Lassana Coulibaly
We all know about the rise and decline of Lassana Coulibaly – it’s been a real shame to watch for everyone.
When he arrived at the club, he made a terrific five opening appearances for the club. He looked the real deal, and was such an aggressive, energetic midfield destroyer.
Unfortunately, a nasty thigh injury set him back for a month, and he’s never performed the same since. Coulibaly now loses the ball far too easily, and despite holding that same aggression, he just isn’t the same influence on matches.
He’s another loan star, this time from Angers. Coulibaly has been back in and around the squad for nearly two months now, and hasn’t shown a sign of returning to the form he was in previously.
If only one of Gerrard’s two midfield targets is a creator, then it wouldn’t be surprising if Coulibaly’s place was under threat in January.
