With January’s transfer window fast approaching us (it will be here before you know it) you can be sure Mark Warburton has his eyes on the market to see what scoops he can nab to take Rangers over the Championship line.
Budget, of course, will be fairly limited, but many forget Rangers still spent nearly £1,000,000 in the last window and managed a glut of very fine signings with that. So while Warbs’ will mostly dabble in the Bosmans and loans market again, he will also have a small warchest with which to finance a few purchases here and there, gently aided by the slow financial recovery Rangers are making.
So with that in mind, what targets could Rangers be after?
A very prominent name which arose during the last window but which did not materialise was ex-Brentford DM Jonathan Douglas. The midfield anchor was released by the Bees and found himself at Portman Road as a free agent, but the deal was only for one year. He is free to negotiate in January and he is one Warburton may be interested in given his need to fill that position.
Rangers are most definitely in the market for a defender, and one name which crops up every so often is Reece Wabara. His trial at Murray Park failed to reach a good outcome, but with Rangers’ need for another full back pretty urgent, Wabara will be a free agent in January and may be useful for squad depth.
There remains the issue of central defence, and another name who popped up last window was Denmark’s U21 international Jens Jønsson – still at AGF in his homeland, he could be another brought in for the needed depth. As well as the fact he is also versatile to play in defensive midfield.
In midfield Rangers are pretty well stocked up, but nevertheless if a player arises of value who can add to the team, Warbs is on record as being interested – and one such player did have a strong link before he ended up at the Magic Hat’s old club Brentford on short-term loan to help out with their injury crisis; John Swift. This would, again, be a loan, but a quite feasible one.
And up front – well here is a real dry area. Stevie May was linked all window long, but ended up at PNE, and truthfully very few out-and-out goal-getters were speculated to switch to Ibrox. This is one area where we would very much rely on Warbs’ and his contacts to find a youth gem from an Arsenal or Tottenham again.
What is certain is Rangers will most definitely enhance come January, and if any sources/news arise you will find them here as always.