Rangers have had a quiet January transfer window to date but the Ibrox club are not the only ones.
January transfer windows have become slow-moving affairs in recent seasons with the phrase ‘it’s a difficult window to get deals done’ now part of every manager’s media lexicon.
But whilst such cliches and soundbites have a basis in reality, expectant football fans everywhere are urging their teams to get transfers over the line and Rangers is no different.
With little over two weeks to go until the window slams shut at Ibrox and around the houses in the UK, here’s what still needs doing at Rangers.
Rangers need to cut dead weight from squad
Longevity and better forward planning are the orders of the day at Rangers as Philippe Clement sucks up years of squad mismanagement in Glasgow.
After losing several players and cutting the wage bill by around £6m in the summer, further reductions are expected and that cash must be used better going forward.
Rangers have a squad bulked out with overpaid, underperforming, perennial losers and there is still plenty of restructuring work to be done at Ibrox.
Rabbi Matondo and Kieran Dowell have been told they can leave whilst Cyriel Dessers has admitted Rangers might look to cash in on his services this January.
That would be a very good start and send a message that mediocrity will no longer be accepted at Ibrox.
Needless to say, anyone who goes will also need replaced in kind.
Lyall Cameron signing would put money where mouth is
Nils Koppen has really been pushing the notion that Rangers will more closely explore the Scottish market after missing out on several top talents.
Connor Barron came in this summer but there’s still plenty of work to be done to heal the likes of Lewis Ferguson slipping through Ibrox fingers.
Lyall Cameron is a Rangers target and the club will look to strike a pre-contract agreement with the midfielder before putting the squeeze on Dundee to sell in January.
The young Scotland international, 22, has had an excellent season for Tony Docherty’s Dens Park upstarts and Cameron’s arrival and would put words into action at Ibrox.
New centre-back a must for Rangers
There is light at the end of the tunnel after a devastating injury crisis which has saw the wheels fall off of Rangers’ Scottish Premiership title tilt.
Had John Souttar, Neraysho Kasanwirjo, Leon Balogun, James Tavernier, Dujon Sterling and Jack Butland all been consistently available over the festive, maybe we wouldn’t find ourselves 13 points behind.
Heading into the new season, there was a feeling Rangers were short in defence and so it has proved as Clement’s insistence on versatile players who can cover multiple positions comes back to haunt him.
Rangers need a match-fit centre-back with a decent level of experience to come in and be available to play from now until the end of the season.
It doesn’t need to be a long-term answer but it’s an area of the park we’ve been caught short in this season and which has already cost us massively.
Who will be the next Rangers project?
Philippe Clement claims he’s had a look at a number of transfer profiles as Rangers run the rule over several would-be targets around the globe.
Nils Koppen has probably earned some credit with the Rangers board and the Rangers fans after the emergence of Jefte, Hamza Igamane and now Clinton Nsiala since the summer.
New CEO Patrick Stewart has also claimed Rangers will ‘accelerate’ plans to sign a prime target that fits the Ibrox mould should they become available this month.
Rangers have an increasingly large scouting network that spans South America, North Africa and Eastern Europe and there are gems just waiting to be polished at Ibrox.
Getting one such player in now allows them to integrate with the squad, adopt Philippe Clement’s philosophy and be ready for a title tilt, Champions League campaign and charge for the domestic treble next season.
It’ll also give supporters cause for excitement.
