Rangers could be closing in on their first signing of the January transfer in a much needed boost to Philippe Clement.
The manager is woefully short of options at the heart of his defence as the squad creaks under an intense period of games.
Rafael Fernandes is reported by Sky Sports to be in talks with Rangers and has been seen at Ibrox to discuss a short-term loan deal from Lille.
Rangers in talks to sign Rafael Fernandes
Yet to play for the Ligue 1 outfit’s first team, the Portugal youth international would be replacing Neraysho Kasanwirjo, who has returned to Feyenoord.
John Souttar is going to be missing for several weeks too according the the Gers boss which made it an obvious area of the park to strengthen.
Robin Propper limped off against Aberdeen but he should be back to face Man Utd with Leon Balogun also available again.
At 6ft 3inches tall, fast, dominant in the air and with the ability to carry the ball out of defence, there is an air of the Nigerian veteran about Fernandes.
As with Clinton Nsiala, he could well be thrown in at the deepend.
Are Rangers going to be busy this January?
Despite calming expectations, Patrick Stewart looks set to oversee his first signings as CEO:
“There have been some exceptions but if you look at the January window generally it isn’t a particularly fruitful window,” claimed Stewart.
“Most selling clubs, do not want to sell their best players.
“We have no intention of selling the players that are performing on the park at the moment and why would we expect any other club that’s challenging for trophies to do so.
“It’s a very low likelihood that top-quality players are going to be on the market.
“Even if we can secure a player that fits the profile, bringing them in in January means there’s no time to bed them in.
“There’s no pre-season and there’s very little time to actually fit in training sessions between all the matches so there’s limited impact they can provide.
“All of that said, there is still a benefit to the January window so don’t get me wrong I’m not saying it’s a complete dead loss. I think there are a couple of scenarios where it can be really effective.”
