‘Fantastic’ Tom Lawrence predicted to have same impact as new Rangers signings
Returning Rangers ace Tom Lawrence can have the same impact as Michael Beale’s summer signings next season, according to The Scotsman’s Andrew Smith.
Lawrence returned to the Rangers team in their 2-1 pre-season friendly win against Hamburg on Saturday (22 July) after a lengthy injury spell.
The attacker spent 11 months on the sidelines with knee and groin issues following his move from Derby County last summer.
“Signed on a free last summer, former Derby midfielder Lawrence netted three times and contributed two assists to help Rangers into the Champions League before he was stricken only a month into the season,” Smith wrote for The Scotsman.
“His return can be akin to enhancing the possibilities Beale has through his – at this point – seven new arrivals.”
Discussing the player after he made his return, Beale said: “In training, when we’re doing the smaller, tighter stuff he looks fantastic and shows his quality.
“We know that there’s a step from that to a real game but it’s wonderful to have him back, similar to Kemar [Roofe], two players that we were robbed of last season.”
Key player
Players returning from injury often can feel like a brand new signing, and that may just be the case for Lawrence at Ibrox, particularly given how long he has been sidelined for.
He was perhaps in danger of being forgotten about at Rangers amid the huge influx of new players, especially with the additions of the likes of Kieran Dowell and Sam Lammers amid other attackers.
But with Beale’s praise, it seems that Lawrence will have a big part to play in blue next season as the club look to get back to their very best.
The Gers boss is building quite the squad ahead of the new season, but he will definitely need it as Rangers try and compete on all fronts.
Lawrence registered played a part in five goals from his nine Rangers appearances so far, scoring three goals and assisting another two, figures which definitely bode well for his chances on the pitch in the coming months.
In other Rangers news, Barry Ferguson has shared what Beale will have told every new Gers summer signing.