Glasgow Rangers extended their impressive run of form to seven wins out of seven in all competitions with a 1-0 win in the Europa League at Ibrox on Thursday night.
They managed to secure that win without any of their three January signings on the pitch, as Tochi Chukwuani, Andreas Skov Olsen, and Tuur Rommens were all ineligible for selection.
There may be further signings on top of those three additions to bolster Danny Rohl’s squad before the end of the window, though, as the Light Blues have been linked with a domestic star.
Rangers have reportedly made contact with Motherwell attacker Tawanda Maswanhise’s representatives to discuss a possible deal to sign the versatile forward this month.
Why Rangers need to sign Tawanda Maswanhise
The Light Blues signed Youssef Chermiti and Bojan Miovski to compete for the number nine position in the summer transfer window, yet it is almost February and James Tavernier is their top goalscorer in the Scottish Premiership with five goals.
Neither Chermiti nor Miovski have proven that they can provide a threat in front of goal on a regular basis for the Scottish giants this season, as evidenced by a right-back outscoring both of them, which is why Maswanhise should be a high-priority target.
|
25/26 Premiership top scorers |
|
|---|---|
|
Player |
Goals |
|
Lawrence Shankland |
11 |
|
Tawanda Maswanhise |
10 |
|
Benjamin Nygren |
10 |
|
Claudio Braga |
9 |
|
Kieron Bowie |
8 |
|
Jamie McGrath |
7 |
|
Daizen Maeda |
7 |
|
Zac Sapsford |
6 |
|
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos |
6 |
|
James Tavernier |
5 |
As you can see in the table above, the Motherwell star is one of the top goalscorers in the division this term, just one shy of Lawrence Shankland, and he has twice as many goals as Rangers’ top scorer.
This suggests that the former Leicester youngster, who has scored ten goals from 5.94 xG (FotMob), could arrive at Ibrox to provide Rohl with the kind of clinical and consistent goal threat in the number nine position that he currently lacks.
He has scored more league goals than Miovski and Chermiti combined (seven) and could be the first-choice centre-forward for the German head coach.
The Rangers flop who should never play again if Maswanhise joins
Whilst Miovski and Chermiti’s chances of starting games week-in-week-out would be negatively impacted by the club signing Maswanhise, there is a Gers player who should never play again if he joins.
Brazilian forward Danilo scored two goals in his first three appearances for Rohl in October, scoring in back-to-back league matches, and looked like someone who was set to benefit from the change in management.
Three months later, though, the former Feyenoord marksman has not scored a goal since those first three matches, and he was an unused substitute against Ludogorets on Thursday night.
Danilo, who was signed from Feyenoord for £6m, has fallen down the pecking order under the former Sheffield Wednesday boss, and is now struggling for game time at Ibrox.
The 26-year-old attacker did start against Annan Athletic in the SFA Cup last week, registering an assist for Miovski, but he was still unable to end his goal drought against the fourth tier side.
|
Danilo in the last 10 games |
|
|---|---|
|
Opposition |
Mins |
|
Ludogorets |
0 |
|
Annan Athletic |
71 |
|
Aberdeen |
0 |
|
Aberdeen |
21 |
|
Celtic |
0 |
|
St Mirren |
11 |
|
Motherwell |
0 |
|
Hearts |
16 |
|
Hibernian |
0 |
|
Ferencvaros |
66 |
As you can see in the table above, Danilo has not been an unused substitute in five of the last ten matches in all competitions, and has only started twice in that time, with one of those starts coming against a fourth-tier opponent.
The right-footed dud, who was once described as being “sloppy” on the ball by pundit Steven Thompson, has only produced three goals and one assist in 23 matches in the Premiership and in Europe combined, per Sofascore, which shows how little of an impact he has had on matches.
Therefore, bringing in another attacker should mean that the Brazilian never plays again, because he is already a bit-part player who is not producing enough in front of goal.
TEAMtalk reports that the Gers would be open to allowing Danilo to move on from Ibrox, on loan or permanently, and the signing of Maswanhise could accelerate an exit.
Rangers expected to submit offer to sign star who’d be a Gassama repeat
Glasgow Rangers are reportedly set to submit a bid to sign a star who would be a Djeidi Gassama repeat.
Whether he leaves or not, though, the 26-year-old flop should not play for the Gers again if the Motherwell star joins this month, as Rohl would have enough firepower to move on without him as an option.
