Glasgow Rangers are in the market to improve their options on the flanks in the coming days, as Russell Martin looks to make further additions to his squad.
The Light Blues are set to sign Tottenham Hotspur youngster Mikey Moore on a season-long loan to provide Djeidi Gassama with competition on the left flank.
Rangers are also reportedly in talks with Go Ahead Eagles over a potential deal to sign Finland international forward Oliver Antman, who could provide an excellent option on the other wing.
The 23-year-old star delivered an eye-catching return of 17 assists in all competitions during the 2024/25 campaign, and could provide a huge threat as a creative force for the Scottish Premiership giants.
As well as seemingly closing in on deals for both Moore and Antman, the 49ers are not done there as they want another winger to compete for a place in Martin’s team.
According to The Sun, as relayed by Ibrox News, the 49ers remain in Rangers talks with Premier League side Crystal Palace over a possible deal for forward Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.
The report claims that the left-footed wing wizard has interest from around the globe this summer, but currently ‘favours’ a move to Ibrox to work with Martin.
It adds that the Eagles are demanding a fee of £10m to allow him to leave on a permanent basis, with Rangers in talks to sign the winger on an initial loan deal.
Why Rangers should sign Rak-Sakyi and Antman
The Light Blues appear to be targeting deals for both Rak-Sakyi and Antman, despite the fact that they both predominantly play on the right wing, and that should come as good news to supporters.
Signing both players would be the right move for the Gers to make because they do not currently have any senior, recognised, right wing options to call upon, and they will need two players to spread the workload across a potentially 50 or 60-game season.
They could be an amazing right-wing rotation for Rangers and Martin because they are both incredibly gifted forwards who have the potential to make an impact in the final third, albeit in different ways.
Whilst Antman, as aforementioned, is an exceptional creative talent who can provide his teammates with plenty of chances to score, Rak-Sakyi is more of a goalscoring winger, as partially evidenced by his 15-goal haul for Charlton in the 2022/23 campaign.
|
24/25 season |
Rak-Sakyi (Championship) |
Antman (Eredivisie) |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
35 |
32 |
|
Goals |
7 |
6 |
|
Goals per 90 |
0.4 |
0.2 |
|
Assists |
2 |
15 |
|
Assists per 90 |
0.1 |
0.6 |
|
Big chances created |
3 |
16 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
||
As you can see in the table above, Rak-Sakyi averaged twice as many goals as Antman per 90 at league level last season, whilst the Finland international was significantly more creative.
This suggests that they offer different qualities on the wing, providing Martin with ways to change up his side, whilst the statistics also suggest that there could be a way for the manager to get them to play together.
Antman, for example, has played as a central midfielder, a centre-forward, and as an attacking midfielder in his career, which suggests that he is also comfortable operating in the middle of the park, if not in his natural position out wide on the right.
This means that the Finnish star and Rak-Sakyi, who was described as “devastating” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, could play together in the same starting XI, as the former could play in the middle with the Palace ace out on the flank.
That could be an effective combination for the Light Blues to use because Antman’s creativity, coupled with Rak-Sakyi’s goalscoring quality, could lead to them being a deadly duo on the pitch in Glasgow next season.
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Therefore, they could be an amazing set of signings for Rangers to make this summer, both because of their potential to play together, as well as the depth that they would provide Martin on the right wing.
