Philippe Clement surely drops hint over Rangers transfer action in January after new injury development
Philippe Clement may well have dropped another subtle Rangers hint over his desire to get busy in the January transfer window after Tom Lawrence’s “mysterious” injury development.
Scottish Daily Mail reported in its print edition on 7 December (page 82) that “Mysterious” circumstances are said to surround the latest injury picked up by Lawrence against Hearts on Wednesday night.
The 29-year-old was substituted with an injury, and replaced by summer signing Jose Cifuentes, but nobody was sure what the injury is and it is still unclear.
“Unsettled by the latest injury to midfielder Tom Lawrence in mysterious circumstance after 16 minutes, Rangers slowly found their feet,” Scottish Daily Mail wrote.
“Beset by injuries, the Welsh midfielder can’t buy a break…”
It is certainly yet another frustrating development for Rangers and Clement who expressed his frustration after the game last night whilst sharing an update on Lawrence.
But more crucially, the Belgian coach may well have dropped another hint that January will be a busy month for the Gers as they look to strengthen and improve a depleted and injury-ravaged squad.
Clement said (via Joshua Barrie, 6 December): “It’s difficult for me in this moment because I have never had it in a team that I worked with, that so many players fall out injured.”
There’s certainly no prize for guessing that Clement certainly didn’t hint at a transfer blitz when the window opens but his frustrations over the squad’s injury record are quite clear for all to see, he clearly isn’t impressed at what he’s seen in terms of injuries so far.
If the Gers are to compete on all fronts this season, they certainly need a fully-fit squad, one which is consistently durable and with a clean bill of health. Right now, that certainly isn’t the case and Clement knows it, having to field a different squad every week.
The Gers spent just a whopping £15m in the summer under Beale and several of those signings have struggled to make a name for themselves so far, especially Sam Lammers, Dujon Sterling, Cyriel Dessers and Jose Cifuentes.
There are no guarantees Clement will be handed the funds to sign the players he wants in January [Chris Jack, 14 October] which means he may look to force out several stars to fund his brand-new revolution.
Also, there are several fringe players that the Belgian may well be looking to move on in January such as goalkeepers Robby McCrorie and Jon McLaughlin, defenders John Souttar and Sterling who’s now a forgotten commodity already since his summer move.
Also, Rangers could well listen to offers for the likes of Scott Wright and Kemar Roofe who have both been blighted by numerous injuries over the past year.
It is certainly gearing up for another busy window at Ibrox and Clement’s subtle hints are pointing towards that reality.
In other Rangers news, a journalist spotted “awareness” from the Player of the Match in the recent win against St Mirren.