da betobet: Rangers, already back in pre-season training and preparing for UEFA Europa League qualifiers, haven’t exactly been shy about recruiting new talent this summer.
da stake casino: Pedro Caixinha has added five players to the ranks at Ibrox from home and abroad as he attempts to build a squad capable of competing with Celtic next season. It’s a tough task but the pro-active nature of their transfer policy is pleasing fans and you’d expect them to go on and make even more signings in the weeks and months to come.
One untapped market thus far has been England with all of Caixinha’s arrivals coming from Scotland or Portugal. While often value isn’t exactly something you’d associate with football south of the border there are some bargains available.
Last week the Premier League published their list of players who will be released by their clubs and we reckon there are a few contenders that Rangers should at least enquire about bringing to Glasgow.
Here are THREE out-of-contract stars that can make a splash at Ibrox…
Filip Lesniak
Filip Lesniak doesn’t have a lot of first team experience in his short career thus far but was perhaps a surprise inclusion on Spurs’ release list after making his Premier League debut just last month against Leicester City. He made quite the impact, assisting Harry Kane to help complete his hat-trick.
You don’t make a first team appearance for Tottenham without possessing a certain quality and at 21 years of age, getting regular first team football at Rangers could make a move for the midfielder a match made in heaven. A Slovakian youth international, he’s been at Spurs since the age of 16 so has had a very good footballing education working with elite coaches and facilities.
He was virtually ever-present in the Spurs U21 development side in 2015/16, demonstrating he was one of the brighter prospects to come through at White Hart Lane.
A defensive midfielder, he could be the kind of talent that can improve them in that area after poor seasons from Andy Halliday and Jason Holt.
Lloyd Isgrove
Having spent the season trying to break into the Southampton first team, Lloyd Isgrove’s career at St Mary’s is over and he’s on the hunt for a new club. Once tipped for big things at Southampton, the left winger has never quite made the breakthrough and at the age of 24 needs a club that can offer him regular first team football.
He did make two appearances under Claude Puel at Saints this season, in cup action, but didn’t get the Premier League action he was hoping for.
His progress hasn’t been all negative though and in 2015/16 he enjoyed a season-long spell at Barnsley, making 35 appearances for the then League One side, helping them into the Championship.
That form was enough to convince Chris Coleman he deserved a Wales call up and he earned his first senior cap last March against Northern Ireland.
Rangers are badly in need of some creativity in wide areas with even the likes of Barrie McKay’s future at the club in doubt given he has still not signed a new contract.
Seb Larsson
While the two names so far on the list are unearthed talents, yet to prove themselves in top-flight football, it wouldn’t be a Rangers transfer window without links to some illustrious big names in the twilight of their careers.
The name Larsson isn’t exactly the most popular around Ibrox Stadium given the exploits of a certain Henrik but an ambitious move for this relegated midfielder would surely go a long way to changing that.
At 32, Seb Larsson has a few years of football left yet but perhaps not at the highest elite level, as evident by the fortunes of Sunderland this season.
However, his set-piece delivery is undeniable and he still makes regular appearances for Sweden, proving there’s plenty of life in the versatile midfielder.
A move for the likes of Larsson would certainly be ambitious, and perhaps costly in terms of wages, but if the Light Blues are truly going to close the gap on Celtic, they need this kind of classy talent arriving at the club. On a free transfer it may not be as absurd as at first glance.