Paulo Dybala might be a little out of Rangers reach but, in Luis Palma, Michael Beale could sign a carbon copy for Rangers.
The 23-year old Honduras winger is at the centre of an early transfer saga but the numbers show that he could be worth the hassle.
Posting on Twitter, analyst Ben Griffiths has ran the numbers and a cut-price Paulo Dybala could well be what Luis Palma brings to Rangers.
Paulo Dybala and how Rangers could land their own in Luis Palma
With an 87% similarity to the Argentina international forward, Palma comes in at number ten on a comparison model in terms of style of play.
This is out of 2892 players from 105 leagues across the world, including some of the best around.
It might be worth noting who else is on the list because, if a deal can’t be struck for Palma, one of the others named might get bumped up the queue.
There are still some dissenting voices towards this style of scouting, however, it is one that Rangers have used in the past.
Alfredo Morelos, despite popular conception, was not recommended by Jonatan Johansson, instead his name appeared when looking for a certain type of player profile.
Robert Lewandoski was the model striker and Morelos was the closest available that we could afford, as revealed by City Group football analytics guru Dougie Wright, who was involved in the recruitment department at Rangers when the Colombian was scouted.
Conveniently, the club was able to ask a former player if they were aware of El Bufalo and the rest is history.
This process is also the one that Brighton and Brentford follow and they are frequently held up as being how to run a successful club.
Models don’t pick up soft skills like leadership and work rate, but they allow the search to be narrowed down before further analysis can be made.
If Michael Beale is looking for his own Paulo Dybala, who has a £17m release clause in his Roma deal, and Luis Palma is the closest fit that we can afford, then count me in.
A goalscoring creator is exactly what we have been missing for the last couple of seasons and Ryan Kent’s departure could end up seeing Rangers strengthened, not weakened.
