One of the problems facing Philippe Clement this summer is trying to reshape Rangers squad so that he has more options in Europe.
Domestic and home-grown players have been neglected in recent seasons, but it isn’t a choice, with Ryan Jack likely to leave and Scott Wright nowhere near good enough, something has to be done.
Barry Ferguson, writing for The Daily Record, reckons that he has a solution with two local heroes who he think would be perfect for Philippe Clement as he guts a Rangers squad that has needed attention for a long time.
Barry Ferguson names domestic duo Rangers need to sign
There are several players who ‘got away’ in recent years.
It’s easy to look at the likes of Kevin Nisbet, Aaron Hickey, Josh Doig and Lewis Ferguson and think that they all should have been signed.
All would have made an impact at Rangers, however, sometimes it isn’t as easy as going out and buying the best available talent.
For Doig and Hickey, Rangers were already well stocked for full-backs, and neither would have come to the club to be second or third choice, especially when they had the chance to go to Serie A.
Nisbet would have been a solid signing but, again, when he left Hibernian, Rangers already had high earning strikers on their books.
Ferguson is the one that frustates given what he has gone on to achieve but, again, when he was linked, Rangers had six senior central midfielders.
He’s gone to Bologna, played every week and become their captain.
His decision has been vindicated.
Who has Ferguson named as must have signings?
This summer, Rangers have to do something about the lack of Scottish players in the squad.
There are players coming through the academy, but Ferguson has picked out two players who he feels are a no-brainer:
“Lennon Miller is the young man who has jumped out at me every time I have seen him play. The Motherwell kid has unbelievable talent. I was at the game where he came off the bench at Ibrox for his league debut.
“He was 16-years-old, Motherwell were losing and it was a massive moment for such a young player. But he was demanding the ball from his team mates, some double his age. It was brilliant to watch. From that moment I knew there was a player there.
“Connor Barron is another. When I have watched him play for Aberdeen or Scotland U21s I’ve liked what I’ve seen. He would be available this summer on a compensation fee. What a snip.
“I go back to our Lewis. I would have loved to have seen him move to Ibrox. For whatever reason Rangers missed the boat. Whether the manager at the time didn’t fancy him or what I do not know.”
Barron is the one that makes most sense given that he is almost a like for like replacement for Ryan Jack.
The question for Miller is, would he be willing to sacrifice playing every week to stay in Scotland?
With players like Miller, I always think that Rangers approach things the wrong way.
Look at Jake Hastie or Scott Wright.
Neither were going to be good enough to be starters straight away so why not loan them out to other clubs in Scotland to keep them playing and see how they develop.
Miller and Bailey Rice played together in Motherwell’s youth teams and look at the difference in progress.
Rice was the one with the higher profile and could easily have been given the minutes that Miller got this season had he stayed at Fir Park.
Ferguson is right though, Barron and Miller are two of the most talented players in the country and successful Rangers teams have always had a core of locals.
Only when the window closes will we see if Nils Koppen and Clement have addressed an issue that has been getting worse for years.
