Rangers should be focussing purely on Ross Stewart after Erik Botheim interest
Rangers have been credited with an interest in Norwegian Erik Botheim – and if so they should refocus their attention on 25-year-old Sunderland striker Ross Stewart.
With Alfredo Morelos, Joe Aribo and Ryan Kent’s futures up in the air, Giovanni van Bronckhorst should certainly be on the lookout for attacking reinforcements.
As revealed by Football Scotland on 16 June, the Gers are monitoring the 22-year-old Norwegian striker’s situation after his Krasnodar contract was cancelled following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, Rangers are said to have had a long-standing interest in Sunderland’s 26-goal striker Stewart and are leading the race for his signature as reported by The Daily Record [27 May].
If both links are to be believed then Rangers simply have to pursue a deal for Stewart instead of Botheim.
Stewart is coming off the most prolific season of his career and has proven himself to be a consistent performer in England’s third tier.
It is also important for Rangers to remember that they’ve had plenty of success before when recruiting from League One.
Joe Aribo developed with Charlton Athletic in the third tier before making the trip to Ibrox, as did Kemar Roofe who came up through League Two, League One and the Championship before making the move to Rangers.
It would not be a shock to see Stewart follow a similar path.
The striker is still relatively young and has plenty of time to make a name for himself if he did make a move back to Scotland.
Furthermore, Stewart has proven himself to be a versatile all-around striker who provides a lot for the team and in terms of goalscoring threat.
The Sunderland man has a year left on his current contract with Stewart being a free agent in the summer of 2023, so there is certainly value for Rangers to exploit should he not extend his deal at the Stadium of Light.
Botheim’s situation is far from ideal with the striker starved of football for a number of months.
There would be a fair amount of doubt over whether the striker would be able to make an immediate impact at Ibrox.
Rangers’ striker pursuit this summer will be intriguing and if an opportunity to sign Stewart arises, they simply have to take it.
In other Rangers news, a replacement for a club stalwart is ready and waiting to be signed if they can sort out a bid.