The January switch window has formally been open for enterprise for nearly two weeks and Glasgow Rangers are but to make a transfer to bolster their enjoying squad.
It has arduous to cover away from the necessity for the Gers to enhance Philippe Clement‘s choices on the pitch, given how far behind their rivals they’re within the Scottish Premiership desk.
The Mild Blues are already 15 factors behind Celtic within the division and misplaced to their Glasgow rivals on penalties at Hampden Park within the ultimate of the League Cup final month.
Clement and technical director Nils Koppen are reportedly wanting so as to add a brand new centre-back to the membership, amid accidents to Leon Balogun, John Souttar, and Dujon Sterling, amongst others.
Burnley defender Hjalmar Ekdal is among the reported targets on the radar for Rangers, however the Scottish giants might additionally profit from including extra attacking choices to the group earlier than the tip of the January switch window.
The Gers at the moment have Vaclav Cerny on mortgage from Wolfsburg they usually have to begin occupied with what life could seem like after his return to Germany on the finish of the season.
Vaclav Cerny’s type for Rangers this season
Rangers solely signed the Czechia worldwide on mortgage from the Bundesliga facet and there’s no choice to make the deal everlasting at this second in time, which signifies that the ahead is barely because of be at Ibrox till the summer season.
His return to Wolfsburg will probably be an enormous blow for the Gers forward of the 2025/26 marketing campaign, offered they don’t handle to convey him again for a second spell, as a result of he has been an enormous participant for Clement this time period.
The left-footed whiz has racked up 12 goals and seven assists in 32 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants, together with three targets and two assists in six outings within the Europa League.
These statistics present that the Czechia ahead has the standard to offer a risk as each a scorer and a creator of targets on the fitting flank, slicing in on his left foot to devastating impact.
|
24/25 Premiership |
Vaclav Cerny |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
20 |
|
Targets |
9 |
|
Large possibilities missed |
5 |
|
Key passes per recreation |
2.6 |
|
Assists |
2 |
As you may see within the desk above, Cerny has produced loads of high quality on the high finish of the pitch within the Premiership for the Mild Blues, with 14 targets and ‘large possibilities’ created mixed in 20 appearances within the division.
These statistics illustrate how large of a blow it’ll be when the 27-year-old star strikes on from Ibrox on the finish of the season, which is why the Gers have to be attentive to the market to see if there is a chance to seek out his long-term alternative.
With this in thoughts, Clement and Koppen should reignite the membership’s curiosity in Plymouth Argyle winger Morgan Whittaker, who has the potential to be Cerny 2.0 for the Mild Blues.
Rangers’ long-standing curiosity in Morgan Whittaker
The Gers haven’t been linked with an curiosity within the English attacker however they’ve been credited with wanting the ahead in quite a few home windows prior to now.
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They reportedly had an offer of £2m turned down by Swansea within the January switch window at first of 2023, two years in the past this month, earlier than Michael Beale reignited that interest in the summertime, just for Plymouth Argyle to signal him on a everlasting deal forward of the 2023/24 marketing campaign.
It was then reported last summer, in 2024, that Rangers needed to signal the ahead from the Pilgrims and that they have been making ready a swoop for the left-footed dynamo to bolster Clement’s squad.
Journalist Alex Crook recently revealed that Championship sides Hull Metropolis and Burnley have each had bids turned down by Plymouth for the winger, though it stays to be seen how a lot they need for his companies.
With curiosity in Whittaker seemingly hotting up, Clement should reignite the membership’s long-standing want to signal the English star this month, as a substitute of lacking out on him but once more.
Why Rangers ought to signal Morgan Whittaker
Some could have a look at his type within the present season and query why the Gers ought to splash the money to convey him to Ibrox, as he has struggled at occasions in entrance of objective.
Whittaker has scored three goals and offered one help in 18 appearances within the Championship this time period, which is much from a powerful return on the high finish of the pitch, albeit he did additionally rating in a 1-0 win over Premier League facet Brentford within the FA Cup on the weekend.
Nonetheless, he’s enjoying in a struggling Plymouth facet which might be at the moment bottom of the Championship, with simply 4 wins, and that’s the reason it has been tough for him to thrive.
Rangers ought to, as a substitute, look to his type from the 2023/24 marketing campaign, as a part of a Plymouth workforce that prevented relegation to League One, to see the sort of high quality that he might produce on the fitting flank for the Gers as their eventual alternative for Cerny.
|
23/24 Championship |
Morgan Whittaker |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
46 |
|
xG |
10.97 |
|
Targets |
19 |
|
Large possibilities created |
10 |
|
Assists |
8 |
As you may see within the desk above, the 24-year-old sensation offered constant high quality within the ultimate third as each a scorer and a creator of targets, simply as Cerny has for the Gers up to now this season.
Whittaker, who was hailed as “exciting” by his former boss Steven Schumacher, has the flexibility to chop in on his left foot from the fitting to attain targets constantly, as proven by his type final time period, and may create ‘large possibilities’ for his teammates to seek out the again of the web.
Rangers might, subsequently, signal him to be the long-term alternative for the Czechia worldwide by signing him this month and giving him 5 months to settle in and study from Cerny, earlier than aiming to turn out to be a star for Clement within the 2025/26 marketing campaign and past.
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Rangers will probably be lively within the January switch window
It’s now all the way down to Koppen to make a transfer for Whittaker and to agree a price with Plymouth to convey the winger to Ibrox earlier than the tip of the January switch window.
