Pedro Caixinha has hinted that he will look to the local market to make some of his summer signings. While the SPFL constantly gets a bad press, there are still a few potentially good signings available for us to make this summer. We had a look at ten players who might be able to slot into our squad.
Jason Cummings
CH: My opinion on the boy changes almost every week. The argument for his signing is obvious - he scores a shiteload of goals - but let's look at the ones against. You can say he's doing it at Championship level, and so did Waghorn before being hopeless in the Premiership. But even back then, nobody had pegged Waghorn for a natural goalscorer - Cummings quite clearly is. There's the point he'd cost too much - £2m is probably too much for us to take such a risk on at this time, but there are suggestions he has a lower release clause. Finally, there's the point that he's a bit of a ned - but half of that is the type of bammery that you enjoy when it's one of your own players. Other than some daft tweet about him being at a party with wee lassies, there's not been much else - some folk are acting as if we were linked to signing James McLean or Nile Ranger or something. £1.5m or less, and fuck it, let's do it.
Verdict: Maybe
JB: I’ve never seen it with Cummings. He’s a decent enough striker if you’re Hibs or Aberdeen but I”ve never seen anything from him which convinces me he’s the prolific striker Rangers need just now. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hibs wanted the Earth for him either which just makes it seem even more ridiculous. He reminds me of Martyn Waghorn in a lot of ways too and, given the choice, I’d stick with what we have over a move for the Hibs striker.
Verdict: No
Jamie Walker
CH: With a year left on his deal and Hearts looking pretty shite, it's hard to think that they wouldn't be forced to sell if he wanted to come here. I can't imagine them being able to command more than £1m, and at that price it's well worth it. Real end product, good finishing from all distances, and we'll be in need of another winger with Michael O'Halloran, Harry Forrester and potentially Martyn Waghorn all away. Great numbers at this level in assists and goals, versatile, still young, and he's a bear to boot. An absolute no-brainer, for me.
Verdict: Yes
JB: Walker has impressed in the limited number of games I’ve seen him in. He looks to have a lot of the attributes Caixinha looks for in a wide player and a move to Ibrox would hopefully see him flourish on the other side from, presumably, Barrie McKay. Could do a lot worse than Walker this summer.
Verdict: Yes
Chris Cadden
CH: The last we saw of Cadden he was getting skinned every two minutes by an out-of-form Barrie McKay. The boy is not a right-back, and while he has pace, he certainly doesn't seem to have much acceleration. He's been used out wide quite a lot this season, and he's maybe better central, but I like the idea of bringing someone with some proper physicality to the middle of the park. I'm just not sure that we've seen enough of his technical qualities to go in hard for him. If it was a low price, then I'd be interested.
Verdict: Maybe
JB: Cadden hasn’t exactly covered himself in glory being punted to right-back through spells of this season but he’s got the makings of a decent central midfielder. Rangers lack a physical presence in midfield but Cadden probably isn’t that guy. At age 20 there’s every chance he’ll improve but in all honesty I’d rather see someone like Max Ashmore or Jamie Barjonas promoted from the Development Squad.
Verdict: No
Louis Moult
CH: In the words of Mark McGhee, it's no for me. Moult's goalscoring record in an absolutely mingin’ Motherwell team is certainly admirable, especially when you consider his style of play. But I think you need something as well as just finishing to be a striker for us. No pace, not a great deal of physicality, and can only play one position. If we can get him for hee-haw and we're replacing the entire forward line and he's happy to be a squad player, it could be worth a punt. But overall, I'd stay away.
Verdict: No
JB: A really good scoring record in a fairly shite Motherwell team but he’s another, like Cummings, who I just don’t see as being the prolific goalscorer Rangers need. He’s bounced around the lower leagues in England before finding some success at Motherwell but hadn’t exactly been prolific anywhere before that. I’m sure he’ll get a move somewhere but it won’t be G51.
Verdict: No
Ryan Jack
CH: I'm still not sure about this. I think fundamentally, we're going to need somebody better than Jack to challenge Celtic, so unless we're bringing in an older top pro, I'd steer clear of signing anyone who's never going to be at that level. Ultimately, I just don't think he has the consistency to be a Rangers player, and we've had enough of defensive midfielders going completely AWOL already, as he did in a certain game at Pittodrie not too long ago.
Verdict: No
JB: I really like Ryan Jack, although that could be down to him being a Football Manager stalwart alongside Lewis Stevenson in my all-conquering Rangers side, and think his versatility is something that makes him the type of player that teams often need around but, again, I’d probably be inclined to look to our own U20s before bringing Jack in. One selling point though is his deal at Pittodrie is up in the summer so wouldn’t cost a penny however at 25 he’s not likely to want to move to Ibrox to warm the bench.
Verdict: Maybe
Liam Lindsay
CH: Centre-back is probably one of those areas where folk would rather we went with experience, but if we struggle to identify a candidate like that, we could do worse than Lindsay. Our defence isn't actually that bad and certainly looks improved under Caixinha, and while Lindsay might not be a vast improvement right now he's certainly a tremendous prospect. I suppose it depends how you feel about David Bates and Ross McCrorie. Also, if he goes for the £1m that's been suggested, that's a bad price when you consider how much we need to improve right now and get other players in other positions in.
Verdict: Maybe
JB: This one totally depends on who else Caixinha looks at bringing in. If it’s depth in defence he’s looking for, promote Ross McCrorie or Aidan Wilson (I’m starting to sound like a broken record here) from the U20s. If he’s looking for someone to play most weeks then it’s all about who is beside him. With the right partner he could be a really good signing.
Verdict: Maybe
Kenny McLean
CH: Simply not for me. Aberdeen's better players are still at Aberdeen rather than us, Celtic or an English team paying actual, real money for them because Derek McInnes has been a genius at finding players who are at exactly the level of his team. Not consistent enough to be a great success anywhere bigger.
Verdict: No
JB: A couple of years ago? Absolutely. He’d have been a fantastic signing. Now not so much. Part of an Aberdeen that have progressively regressed over the last few years and has rarely impressed in the games I’ve seen him in.
Verdict: No
Craig Sibbald
CH: It's surprising nobody's gone in for him, and he's played a frankly ridiculous number of games for his age, but has he improved that much in that space of time? He's having a good season, but he's not a wean anymore, and I do wonder about that. I think we can probably do better and if we did buy him he'd be at risk of getting lost.
Verdict: Maybe
JB: I really like Sibbald and have been shouting for Rangers to sign him for a few years now. Still only 21 and with almost 250 senior appearances he wouldn’t be some wet behind the ears kid coming in. He’s the kind of player who gets fans off their seat. Out of contract in the summer and would be a good addition to the squad.
Verdict: Yes
Liam Boyce
CH: Boyce has done a tremendous job for Ross County but I think he's a bit one-dimensional. He scores loads by timing his runs from deep, but he's not going to provide the creativity and direct running that we can probably find in the number 10 role from elsewhere.
Verdict: No
JB: See Cummings, Jason; Moult, Louis.
Verdict: No
Ali Crawford
CH: Good player, but nowhere near consistent enough for us, in my opinion. Probably similar to Jason Holt - would be a bargain buy, but we've now outgrown that level of player.
Verdict: No
JB: Another decent enough option but he doesn’t really offer anything different from those already at the club. Warburton was apparently really keen on him and, after seeing how many of his signings worked out, it puts me off a little. Not likely to improve much at 26 (by the time the season starts) so not really worth pursuing.
Verdict: No
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