Rangers lead race for ‘major transfer coup’ as Michy Batshuayi lined up for January Ibrox move
Rangers are at the front of the queue to sign Fenerbahce striker Michy Batshuayi after he failed to agree a new deal with the Turkish club, according to the Scottish Sun.
The paper reported via their website late on 9 January that the Light Blues are looking to secure a short-term deal for the Belgian international, which would represent a “major transfer coup”.
The 30-year-old is being targeted to boost Philippe Clement’s front-line with Danilo out injured and Sam Lammers set for a loan to FC Utrecht, while Kemar Roofe has struggled long-term with fitness issues.
Rangers are said not to be the only club interested in the former Chelsea forward, who has scored eight goals in all competitions so far this season, but are in pole position.
The answer?
Batshuayi may have never quite hit the heights expected of him when £33million was spent to take him to the Stamford Bridge from Marseille in 2016 [Guardian].
But he has scored goals wherever he has been, which has included Borussia Dortmund, Valencia, Crystal Palace and Besiktas, and has 27 international strikes from 53 caps.
So he could be what Clement has been looking for as he looks to rapidly overhaul a striking department that was already struggling in the wake of the summer recruitment under Michael Beale, before the never-ending injury crisis affected that area of the squad.
With the struggling Lammers on the brink of a loan return to the Eredivisie it is hard not to see Batshuayi as an upgrade if the Gers can bring the Belgian in for the rest of the season at least.
Despite defeat to Celtic on 30 December there is still a title race developing, as Rangers hold two games in hand on their Old Firm rivals, and the impressive qualification to the knock-out stages of the Europa League leaves the club fighting on three fronts after already lifting the Viaplay Cup.
It would have been very difficult to envisage Clement steering the club to further success this term if he was relying on just Cyriel Dessers and Lammers for the foreseeable future, so January moves were a must.
The loan capture of Fabio Silva from Wolves is encouraging but isn’t likely to represent regular goals so a number nine is needed, and the Ibrox boss could do a lot worse than his compatriot Batshuayi.
In other Rangers news, the club have been offered the chance to secure a permanent deal for a Premier League player.