Rangers will always be linked with players both in and out of the transfer window being open and one who was said to be a target for Giovanni van Bronckhorst could be on the move – Erik Botheim, a player that Philippe Clement could do with now.
The 6ft tall Norwegian striker made his name in the Bodo/Glimt side that battered Jose Mourinho’s Roma – and Celtic – but has struggled since moving to Serie A.
Rangers manager Clement could do with more firepower in his squad and Erik Botheim is set to leave Salernitana in the coming days.
Rangers could have made return for Erik Botheim
Rumoured to be a name under consideration when Steven Gerrard was gaffer, reports of a contract offer in the summer of 2022 were due to him being able to walk away from his Krasnodar agreement.
Botheim scored goals consistently for both Rosenborg and Bodo/Glimt so it was no surprise to see plenty of teams being interested in signing him.
Now 24-years old, Erik Botheim needs to choose his next move wisely and a loan to Rangers would be ideal to rediscover his goalscoring touch in a dominant side that creates plenty of chances.
However, according to journalist Nico Schira, Malmo could be about to land a 12-month loan deal.
Nils Koppen appears to be driving the club’s recruitment in an entirely different direction to the one that we saw under Ross Wilson and Michael Beale.
Rather than trying to fix players, we seem to be targeting ones who are on an upward trajectory.
A link to Belgian striker Hugo Cuypers being a recent anomaly given his age and profile.
When players like Erik Botheim become available though, Rangers shouldn’t be turning their nose up.
He is still young enough to rediscover his previous form and would also be a good fit stylistically in terms of playing as a central striker with wingers either side of him.
If he goes to Malmo for the year, he will be approaching the last 12-months of his Salernitana contract.
If he scores goals again, his name should be back on our list of players to keep an eye on but it looks like we have missed the boat in this window.
