Rangers are looking to add as many players as possible before the transfer window opens with Nils Koppen working the Bosman market well.
Clinton Nsiala has been secured with others like Thomas Galdames and Damian Garcia also being targeted.
It is the speculation of the last 48 hours that has raised a few eyebrows though with Connor Barron being liked with a move to Rangers, a player that former Ibrox hero Kevin Thomson is fully aware of having coached the 21-year old at Kelty Hearts.
Thomson reveals qualities Connor Barron could bring to Rangers
Thomson is as well placed as anyone to judge who might be capable of handling life in Philippe Clement’s engine room after playing over 100 games alongside the likes of Barry Ferguson and Steven Davis.
He knows what a Rangers midfielder should look like.
Barron praised the impact of Thomson during his loan spell at Kelty with the former Auchenhowie coach telling Rangers News just what sort of player Clement could be getting:
“Tenacious, he can handle the ball, he’s got a bit about him, he’s not overly big – a bit like myself – probably not as wide or aggressive as me i suppose.
“He’s more than capable of being box-to-box, I think at times he has sat behind the ball for Aberdeen but he has bundles of energy so when we played him at Kelty we utilised him being able to help build up play.
“The flip side of that is, when he did go forward, to use his energy and get up on the edge of the box to challenge him to try and score more goals.
“That finishing touch, that wee bit extra quality that’s needed in the final third, we used to challenge him with that all the time.”
Barron is immediate replacement for Ryan Jack
There is an obvious comparison in terms of how Thomson has described Barron – Ryan Jack.
Capable of playing as a six but also of progressing play, there were never any real doubts or complaints about Jack’s contribution when he was fit.
The problem was staying fit.
Possession is dominated domestically whereas, in Europe and against Celtic, more work has to be done without the ball.
As Thomson says, Barron is more than capable of doing both.
For Rangers, as perfectly demonstrated by Jack, midfielders must be capable of doing both roles.
Barron’s work rate, energy and attitude seem like the perfect fit for Rangers, qualities that Thomson had in spades and made him a favourite son of Walter Smith.
