James Sands is now confirmed and announced as a Rangers player and by all accounts, if Rangers get their way, he won’t be the only one to arrive this January. The player arrives on an eighteen month loan deal and becomes Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s first signing.
Rangers retain an exclusive clause to make the deal permanent should the loan work for all concerned. The versitile player, who can play central midfield or central defence whilst covering right back, arrives with a great pedigree having started for MLS all stars on a few occasions.
I won’t pretend to know a lot about the player but I am confident he won’t be the only arrival this month.
Before continuing to read on, it is important to state that I am not trying to be ‘ITK’ and I am not, I’m merely discussing what is currently going on and what is currently relevant for the club. The days of breaking news is unlikely but if I can discuss things I will, those that follow will have seen Monday’s blog update on Sands and confirmation interest was real and we would move quickly, so I try my best to bring you news that we can rely on. So imagine this as chatting with your mate and closer to where I want to be!
One player definitely on Rangers radar is Hearts centre back John Souttar, Rangers are said to have a ‘vested interest’ in the player and monitoring the player for a potential Bosman agreement, one which could turn into the same deal that brought Scott Wright to the club early.
However, this is not done, not definitely happening nor is it a done deal. The player has several offers more lucrative than the one potentially from Rangers so what happens next is very much up to him. It will be up to the player but reassuring Rangers are at least circling round the player and watching the situation.
Rangers could lose Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun this summer should they not renew deals, Niko Katic may move on and there is continued rumoured interest in Filip Helander. Looking at this deal it makes perfect sense if the club do win the race to sign him. One player definitely staying and has renewed his contract is Leon King and he is one to watch. Definitely capable, even at a young age, of pushing our current centre backs and becoming a solid squad option. Both King and Souttar could massively help Rangers required Scottish European contingent and may also be on the clubs mind.
Reports today have linked Rangers with a £4.5m bid for Skov Olsen of Bologna. Rangers have denied this to official club media partner Heart and Hand. This does not mean Rangers have no interest and does not mean they have never been interested, but Rangers have denied offering any bid that’s reported today as confirmed to H&H earlier. Personal opinion, I’m not sure Rangers are spending that money unless it’s a player that can’t be turned down. Not to say we don’t have the money, we just may have other more prudent targets.
Rangers will be used by lots of agents so worth remembering that as lots of names will be linked this January.
Again none of the above is ‘groundbreaking’ and I don’t have any knowledge or any other names linked or where we might do our next business.
Players creating interest and look to be heading out the door are Jack Simpson and Jermain Defoe. Both have had teams ‘register’ an interest, in terms of Simpson several clubs are on notice and preparing to move for the player. This has been widely discussed but at least concrete news that both are now attracting interest.
Only my opinion, I can see a few departures this window if Rangers can find the appropriate interest from clubs. Barker, Defoe, Simpson and a few others will be surplus to requirements. Rangers will want to thin the squad of those not contributing but also mindful of what could happen with Covid.
I also think we may get one or two more in also depending on what deals can be worked out but credit to the club as they do things behind the scenes and quietly. Zero noise surrounding Leon King’s renewal then announcement, how I would like similar for Kent or others!
The positives I take from the small stuff above is we are looking to freshen the squad both in and out which is helpful for a group that has largely been together for a few years. What I also take is the club are carefully considering their moves also and not wasting the money presented by the sale of Nathan Patterson.
I am excited to see who we bring in and where we go next, both transfers in and out of the club. At least it’s not boring, but that’s always unlikely at Rangers. Rotating the squad and freshening with some quality may just be what we need to help the challenge to retain our title.
Four Lads Had A Dream 