Jason Jones

Thu 26 March 2020 11:50, UK

RANGERS OPINION 

Rangers could do a lot worse than turning to young, up and coming talent in the summer transfer window.

As a general rule of thumb, if you can scout a player when he is young enough, he will cost less and offer you a higher potential resale value in the future.

And it looks as if they are keen to employ that tactic when it comes to Atletico Madrid starlet Rodrigo Riquelme.

Spanish outlet Marca reported earlier this month that the Gers were preparing to go toe-to-toe with Old Firm rivals Celtic for the 19-year-old winger at the end of the season.

But according to Turkish publication Fanatik, they could also face competition from Fenerbahce for his signature too.

Ordinarily, that could prove to be a a huge issue.

Riquelme has a release clause of £27.5 million in his contract, well out of our price range, and if it came down to a bidding war, we would be hard pushed to fend off competition from a club the size of the Turkish giants.

That being said, there could be a lifeline on the horizon for the Gers.

It is understood that Riquelme, whose current deal expires at the end of the campaign, could still be open to the prospect of signing an extension in the Spanish capital.

But why would that be good news for the Gers?

Well, because La Razon report that Atletico could be keen to loan the youngster to Ibrox in an effort to sweeten a potential deal for Alfredo Morelos.

It would certainly be a blow to lose the Colombian, but having a youngster of Riquelme’s potential come in as an alternative would certainly soften the blow.

So far this season he has averaged 9.36 successful dribbles and 2.77 crosses per game this season, as per Wyscout.

As a comparison, Ryan Kent has averaged 8.28 and 2.63 in those areas respectively this term, as per Wyscout.

If we could get this prodigy through the door, what a weapon he could prove to be next season.

In other Rangers news, ‘Costing you the title’ – Billy Dodds urges Gers to sell big name talent.