Rangers were linked with numerous players last summer when Michael Beale was manager, in particular, in the forward areas.
Sam Lammers was signed early for around £3m, after a short saga Cyriel Dessers followed him for £4.5m with Danilo being the last to arrive for a fee in the region of £6m.
The latter made sense given his age and profile but the other two were strange consider Rangers could have brought in forwards who had had better season on Bosman free transfers, although one of them seems to have been hit by our injury curse.
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Rangers dodged a bullet not signing tap-in Josh Maja
There seemed to be one player in particular who ticked a lot of boxes.
He was young, had scored a lot of goals at a decent level, was available for free and had been a target before.
The scouting had been done and Michael Beale had been at Rangers when Josh Maja was signed off as a player that could replace Alfredo Morelos and become an integral member of the squad.
Had the Colombian international been sold, rumours of £6m interest from Ibrox might have become concrete.
When it emerged, that Maja was leaving Bordeaux, it seemed like an easy decision for Beale with Morelos finally leaving Rangers – one in, one out – and he was named as a main target.
However, the Nigeria international chose West Bromwich Albion and he looked set to reignite his career in England at a club with Premier League ambitions.
Instead, he has missed almost the whole season with an ankle injury with manager Carlos Corberan excited to see the striker return, as reported by the Birmingham Mail:
“I think he’s a player that made us feel excited when we brought him to the club, because for me he was a talent in England in his previous clubs with Sunderland, and Fulham in the Premier League.
“After he found difficulty and moved to France to play there and challenge himself, because of the different language, he used the opportunity very well to grow as a player.
“He comes back here with a desire to put all of his football and all his improvement in England again, so it made me feel excited in the summer with his quality, desire and maturity, but unfortunately the injuries stopped his progress or immediate impact.
“It doesn’t mean it has decreased our level of belief in him, because I think he’s a special player that with our position and possibilities last summer we understood he was the best player we could achieve.
“That’s why he’s here. He is a player we are of course looking forward to seeing more, to work more time and seeing him more in games.”
Maja link confined to the history books
Josh Maja seemed a popular option for Rangers fans at the time.
One good season in five doesn’t suggest that Philippe Clement has missed out on not having him in his squad though.
A series of niggly injuries have been bookmarked by two serious, long-term problems that have required surgery.
The last thing our manager needs is more players who are injury prone.
He has inherited Cyriel Dessers and Danilo who will probably be here next season, Kemar Roofe whose contract expires at the end of the season and Sam Lammers whose form at Utrecht suggests that he will be on the move too.
It will be another summer where a striker or two will be needed, but for once, Josh Maja won’t be a name mentioned in many fans WhatsApp groups.
