Glasgow Rangers missed out on several transfer targets during the summer, which would have certainly bolstered Philippe Clement’s starting XI at Ibrox.
Albion Rrahmani was sought after during the opening few weeks of the window, but he opted to move to across Europe instead of sign for Rangers. Defender Jose Cordoba was also a player who looked like he was moving to Ibrox but then chose English shores instead.
Clement isn’t the only Rangers manager to miss out on vital transfer targets, or players who have sparkled after being linked with the Light Blues.
Michael Beale was chasing a striker back in 2023 who is now outscoring Erling Haaland…
When Rangers missed out on Viktor Gyokeres
Following a season in which the club failed to win a trophy, Beale was keen on strengthening during the summer transfer window to build a squad capable of challenging Celtic.
One player who was surprisingly linked was Coventry City centre-forward Viktor Gyokeres. The Swede had scored an impressive 21 goals in the Championship as the Sky Blues lost in the playoff final to Luton Town.
Football Insider claimed the Gers had enquired about the striker ahead of potentially making a move that summer, but nothing materialised as Sporting Club eventually signed him from the second tier side.
Gyokeres’ statistics for Sporting Club this season | |
|---|---|
Goals | 7 |
Assists | 1 |
Shots per game | 6.5 |
Goal conversion percentage | 27% |
Successful dribbles per game | 2.3 |
Big chances created | 2 |
He has been a huge success in Portugal, outshining the likes of Haaland and Harry Kane due to his goalscoring exploits recently.
Viktor Gyokeres statistics since Rangers wanted him
Former teammate Maxime Biamou described Gyokeres as “unplayable” during his time with Coventry, and he certainly continued his goalscoring form during a sublime debut season in Lisbon.
Across 50 matches in all competitions, the Swede somehow found the back of the net 43 times, while chipping in with 15 assists too, making it a season to remember as the club won another league title.
Haaland, on the other hand, scored a total of 38 goals in 45 matches for Manchester City, certainly not a bad return whatsoever, but it proves how good Gyokeres was in front of goal.
The 26-year-old started the current season with seven goals in just five matches for Sporting, clearly intent on leading the club to yet another domestic title.
While Rangers may have been out of the picture for Gyokeres when it came to his price tag, he would ideally be a dream signing for Clement, giving defenders in Scotland a torrid time.
Due to his form recently, Gyokeres has been attracting attention from the Premier League, although clubs failed to stump up the £87m that it would cost to activate his release clause.
It represents a chance missed by the club, but these are the types of players Rangers should be looking at in order to establish a player trading model.
Of course, these players are hard to find, but Clement will be hoping that his summer transfer business has unearthed a promising nugget or two, that’s for sure.
