Rangers could have saved their fans an awful lot of stress by letting Philippe Clement explain that he wasn’t going to bring another striker in during the transfer window.
Obviously, the Gers boss was never going to do that and even if there is a gap in his squad, there is a reason why he will be happy with the ins and outs at Ibrox over the last few weeks.
Recent comments from a new signing and the manager show why Rangers fans should have been prepared not to see Philippe Clement standing with his arm around another striker.
Rangers have given Philippe Clement a striker
When asked about the form of Cyriel Dessers in the past, Clement was quite happy to explain that he isn’t bothered where the goals come from, as long as every player plays their part in the team.
It is a conversation that he clearly had with Fabio Silva too and despite only being played in a central role for Rangers so far, Philippe Clement’s revelation about where he sees the 21-year old tells a story.
“He understands the story because we had a lot of talks before he came about football about how I see players playing.
“We spoke about several positions – not only one. And how I see that.”
A sentiment backed up by the player himself via Rangers TV:
“I don’t like to stay in the box only and be ‘No, No.9’.
“I like to change positions, have connections with players, play one-twos and move deep.
“I am a dynamic player and I like to change my position during the game.”
He’s not saying that he isn’t a striker, just that he isn’t the type to stay the width of the goals.
No different to Alfredo Morelos but with more pace and finesse, with maybe a little less aggression!
Working on a budget, another thing accepted by Clement, he looks to have made the decision to go with one player who he wants for the long term and one player who can cover a couple of positions.
The key being that Silva has the pedigree to offer quality as a number nine or in one of the supporting roles.
By signing Oscar Cortes on a loan to buy deal, we have addressed a long-term problem.
With Danilo in the squad, we don’t “need” to sign and out and out number nine, we have one, he just isn’t available.
The options available to Philippe Clement and Rangers would have been a very short list but we have seen the work he has done with players like Dessers.
We have to trust that he can do the same with the likes of Silva and Cortes now too.
