Ibrox View: Rangers should ignore mooted transfer go-ahead from Euro club to land Ch’ship target
Rangers have been relatively quiet in the transfer window in recent weeks.
Steven Gerrard got his business done fairly early this summer, and for the most part he has headed into the new season with a settled and largely complete squad.
But speculation over the past week would seemingly suggest that there is still the potential for maybe one more incoming at Ibrox before the market closes next month.
Firstly, we heard that the Gers are interested in Preston North End midfielder Daniel Johnson, with the potential for Jordan Jones to be used as makeweight in any potential deal for the Jamaican.
But over the past couple of days, we have now heard that there is a chance Gerrard’s men could pursue a deal for Amiens talent Bongani Zungu too.
The Scottish Sun suggest that the French club have admitted defeat in their battle to keep hold of the South Africa international this summer, with club president, Bernard Joannin, stating: “Before recruiting anyone else, we have to sell and that means the players who don’t want to be here.
“There is no longer any question of keeping players who have their heads elsewhere.”
It is understood that Amiens’ more relaxed stance has alerted the Gers, who could now be tempted to make a move.
But which player would be the better option for Gerrard’s side?
It is probably important to point out that they do occupy slightly different positions.
As we can see from Johnson’s heat map of last season, he tends to play a more attacking role in the centre of midfield, venturing further forward to offer a threat in the final third more often.
By contrast, Zungu is a more conservative option, generally shielding his back four by holding his position at the base of a midfield quartet.
That in itself could be a major clue about which way Gerrard will sway if it comes down to straight choice between the two.
Rangers already have Ryan Jack, Glen Kamara, and an increasingly disciplined Steven Davis to call upon in defensive midfield, whereas beyond Joe Aribo and arguably Scott Arfield, they don’t have any other genuine box-to-box talents in the centre of the park.
Unsurprisingly, Johnson’s xG is a full 0.19 higher than Zungu’s per game, and his dribble success rate is 5.4% higher too, as detailed in the graph below, as per Wyscout.
That’s not to say the latter is an inferior player.
In fact, his pass completion rate, number of interceptions, and total action success rate were all higher than Johnson’s last term.
But if we’re looking at the positions that Gerrard is more likely to want to reinforce with limited time and presumably limited resources following a summer of relatively liberal spending, then it surely makes more sense for him to move for the attack-minded Johnson.
In other Rangers news, the Gers have a player-plus-cash deal on the cards, club ready to swap centre-mid & forward.