There is no question Rangers will be linked with Ryan Porteous this upcoming January window, as not only a promising player but a freebie, a Bosman, after the Hibs star rejected a new deal in Edinburgh and made clear he will leave next year.

Porteous is one of those players opposition fans love to despise, a real nasty kid at times with a horrible streak in him, but there’s absolutely zero doubt about his talent, and he could well become one of Scotland’s best defenders on his current course.

Rangers, of course, clearly need central defenders, and at just 23 with his whole career ahead of him he’s one the scouts will certainly look at, if prospective manager Michael Beale endorses such a capture.

Kevin Thomson knows Porteous well, and has been quite vocal in admitting the lad has a real rotten streak in him, and can be a bit of a bad egg, but off the pitch is as sound as a dollar pound and of course is an excellent defender on it.

Should Rangers make the move to bring Porteous across the M8 into Govan?

Porteous rates a solid 7/10 on whoscored’s season so far rating, making him the 19th best player in the SPL, with only four non-Old Firm players ahead of him. It’s not sterling, but Hibs have been abysmal and he’s the highest-rated Hibee with not even world cup starring Martin Boyle surpassing him.

Are we ‘touting’ him up, as one reader today accused us of over Kenny McLean? What we want is the best for Rangers, and if our manager, whether it was former Giovanni van Bronckhorst or now as it seems Michael Beale believes in a player enough to bring him to Ibrox, we trust that judgement.

Of course, that Ross Wilson appears to have been dominating the transfer market at Rangers with his own decisions is another matter, but if hypothetically Beale wants Porteous, we back that completely.

Porteous is a bit of a troubled kid, but there’s no doubting the potential that’s there. Beale the right man to get the best from him?

Who knows. But we’ll see if Rangers make the move for the Hibs defender in January.