Charlie Nicholas: Michael Beale will spend big at Rangers to chase Celtic
Charlie Nicholas believes Rangers manager Michael Beale will spend whatever money it takes to close the gap to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, he wrote in the Scottish Daily Express.
Since arriving in the Ibrox dugout, the 42-year-old has overseen a remarkable start, winning five out of his opening six games and only dropping points in the 2-2 draw in the Old Firm derby.
Beale is looking to be proactive in the January transfer window and is in advanced talks with Norwich City attacker Todd Cantwell about a potential transfer away from Carrow Road (Monday 9 January).
According to former Sky Sports pundit Nicholas, the Gers manager will dig deep into Rangers’ financial reserves to improve his squad over the coming windows, just as Ange Postecoglou has done with the Hoops.
Writing for the Scottish Daily Express, he said: “Beale will be the same over the coming weeks.
“He will want a bit more money in this window, then the next one and then more again in the one after that. He will end up doing what Ange has done and will go down the exact same route.
“Michael will want to get to the level where Ange is now because it means he is becoming successful. If it is successful then why not copy it? Rangers are now trying to play catch-up and this time they will need to spend money to try and bridge the gap.”
Major improvements
Despite Beale’s strong start to life at Ibrox, Rangers still find themselves nine points off Celtic and will now have to rely on a major drop-off in the second half of the window to stand any chance of a title charge.
The January transfer window could be the Englishman’s other saving grace, as after a month in the job, he will now know which players he wants to take forward with him and which to sell.
The Gers boss seems to have prioritised extra bodies in the midfield as he confirmed Everton’s Tom Davies was one of his targets after the 2-0 win against Dundee United (Sunday 8 January).
Both Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos’ futures in Scotland are up in the air, with the pair’s contracts due to expire this summer. If Rangers could ship off the Columbian striker in the summer, this could allow Beale to dig deep into the club’s pockets and spend big on a proven centre-forward.
In other Rangers news, the club are now fancying their chances of major a January transfer after Fabrizio Romano’s update with a move on the cards.