By Joe Ellis

7th Dec, 2022 | 6:10pm

Rangers unlikely to make Ahmed Kendouci move in January despite reports

Rangers are now thought to be unlikely to make a move for ES Setif midfielder Ahmed Kendouci in January, according to The Sun.

Football Scotland had reported earlier on Wednesday (7 December) that Michael Beale was eyeing the 23-year-old as one of his first signings as Light Blues manager.

They even claimed that initial contact had already been made between the two clubs but The Sun now report that such rumours are wide of the mark and that he won’t be moving clubs in the winter window.

Beale is keen to assess his current squad thoroughly at Auchenhowie before he makes any decisions on players he wants to sign in the January window.

An initial loan deal had been the supposed idea with a view to making it permanent in the summer but the Algerian side look set to keep their star man.

Unproven

In the position Rangers currently find themselves, the last thing they can afford to be doing is taking a huge gamble on a player who is plying his trade in the Algerian leagues.

Not to offend any Algerians, but it isn’t the epitome of a top-class league in comparison to some competitions on European shores and not exactly a hotbed for generational footballing talent.

In the 2021-22 season, Kendouci played almost every game for ES Setif in both the Algerian domestic league and the African Champions League, scoring a total of eight goals and registering six assists.

This season, however, he has started like a house on fire with eight goals in five matches in the league although Setif are only third after he missed a handful of matches.

Even though he is in red-hot form, Rangers can’t afford to be spending any significant money on a player yet to venture away from his homeland given previous January failures.

In other Rangers news, this teenager is turning heads at Auchenhowie and one piece of jaw-dropping skill should alert Beale too.