Rangers’ summer rebuild is underway in earnest with reports reaching us that the Ibrox giants are looking at Slovakian international László Bénes, 26, as a replacement for the likes of John Lundstram and Kieran Dowell, both set to depart.
The midfielder, both defensive and central, plies his trade in the German Bundesliga 2 with long-time Rangers friends Hamburg, and is contracted there till 2026, meaning he wouldn’t be a free. Fee would be around £3M-£6M.
He is, however, immensely experienced in Germany’s top flight with Borussia Mönchengladbach and others with over 60 appearances so this isn’t a player consigned to the dustbin of a country’s second tier. He can also boast a couple of sub appearances in the Champions League, a win and a loss.
With a market value of around £5M and almost 20 caps for his country, he is clearly a decent asset player who has a good rising stock in the game – Rangers are already preparing for life without John Lundstram and/or Kieran Dowell by working on bringing in some new talent.
As things stand in midfield, Mohamed Diomande is the only midfielder Rangers actually tangibly have for next season – Dujon Sterling, despite impressing, doesn’t seem to get selected there, Ryan Jack is likely to be freed, Nico Raskin has struggled to shine, and Dowell has been told he’s surplus. Lundstram’s situation is well-documented.
From it being a position with a tonne of quality, it now needs serious work done on it, and Bénes could well be a player of some gravity that the scouts think would be a strong addition in there.
His record is solid, even if he’s not setting us ablaze with excitement, but 42 goals and assists for Hamburger, even in the second tier, is a very credible return. His record in the country’s top tier is, admittedly a lot less impressive – 8 goals and assists in 65.
Is he a Rangers level player? Probably not on the face of his record, if we’re looking for pure Premier League or European top five league-calibre players.
But those aren’t terribly cheap and Rangers’ apparent £25M budget could be drained very quickly by shopping only in that market.
But this guy is not far off it, so we’ll see if the club makes its interest in this lad clearer this summer.