Rangers were certainly busy in the transfer market last summer, but supporters will be demanding more new recruits come January.
13 new additions were made in July and August, but this team has got significantly worse, leading to sporting director Kevin Thelwell feeling the need to do an interview with the club’s in-house TV channel during the international break.
Having sacked Russell Martin after only 15 games in charge and appointed Danny Röhl, the German will surely demand new recruits when the winter window opens in just 41 days time, so could Rangers bring in some much-needed defensive reinforcements?
Rangers' need for defensive depth
After taking a couple of matches to figure things out, new coach Röhl has settled on a back three, notably deploying this shape against Hibs, Roma and Celtic.
As a result, centre-back will surely be a key position he’ll seek to strengthen in January, given the Light Blues’ lack of depth and quality in this position.
Summer signing Nasser Djiga has regularly proved himself to be an unreliable figure, making a high-profile error against Club Brugge, having been sent off on his home Premiership debut against Dundee, thereby losing his place in the side (video below).
Meantime, John Souttar has been Rangers’ most impressive centre-back so far, starting 23 of 24 fixtures to date, albeit he can unfortunately never be relied upon to remain fit for a long period of time.
He withdrew from Scotland’s starting lineup mere minutes before Tuesday’s historic World Cup qualifying win over Denmark after suffering an injury in the warm-up and was at fault in the game against Greece, with James McFadden stating that he had a “nightmare” in that clash.
So, right now, even when everyone is fit, Röhl has just four senior centre-backs for three starting positions, one of which is Emmanuel Fernandez, who has not started a match since August.
Perhaps an addition in January would do the trick.
Rangers targeting a new centre-back
According to reports in Belgium earlier this month, Rangers have “made enquiries” as they aim to sign defender Mujaid Sadick from Genk.
Well, Football Transfers believes the 25-year-old is worth around £8m, which would make him one of Rangers’ most-expensive signings of all-time, so would he be worth the investment?
Mujaid began his senior career at Deportivo La Coruña in Spain, making 55 appearances for the fallen Spanish giants, before moving to Belgium in 2021, appearing 136 times for current employers Genk, who finished third in last season’s Jupiler Pro League.
This season, he has been a near ever-present for the Smurfs, including starting all four of their Europa League matches, the first of which was a 1-0 victory at Ibrox, with former Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-gyu the match-winner.
The Spaniard’s statistics certainly make for impressive reading, as outlined below.
Minutes
1,203
33rd
Completed passes
848
5th
Pass completion %
94.4%
1st
Tackles
28
20th
Clearances
75
15th
Aerials duels won
25
34th
Total duels won
61
40th
As the table highlights, Mujaid’s statistics in Belgium’s top-flight this season are generally pretty imperious.
No players boast a higher pass completion %, while he is also in the top 20 when it comes to tackles and clearances.
The Rangers Journal described the Spaniard as “physical, athletic, good on the ball and aggressive”, while his “versatility” has also been praised, which would certainly enhance his reputation with Röhl, who regularly tinkers with his shape and formation both from one game to the next but also within a match.
Thus, what is clear is that Rangers really need to sign another centre-back in January to avoid having to play stop-gaps as part of Röhl’s back three.
Mujaid’s statistics and potential, still only 25 years and playing in the sixth-strongest league on the planet, according to Global Football Rankings, all suggest he would represent an upgrade on Djiga and Souttar, the latter has been in good form, but is injury prone and whether or not his performances as sustainable remains a question mark.
The Spaniard would be an expensive investment, but one Rangers may have to make to correct the errors made in the summer.
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