When Philippe Clement came into Rangers, the Belgian was clear that he’d be taking his time to assess the current squad.
After all, it was with the same squad of players that had just gotten Michael Beale the sack which the ex-AS Monaco manager would need to salvage something out of the season.
But having lifted the League Cup, January was signposted as a crucial month in the calendar for a Rangers team devastated by injury issues all season.
It turned out to be a damp squib with Fabio Silva flopping (quite literally), Oscar Cortes suffering as a result of the Ibrox injury curse, and Mohamed Diomande, well Mohamed Diomande is only one man.
But another name which reportedly turned Clement’s head heading into that January could now be on the move this summer.
Only the sorts of transfer fees involved are enough to both make Ibrox fans baulk and raise a few eyebrows over the links.
Godfrey at centre of bidding war
Cast your mind back to early November and Rangers were being mentioned as potential suitors for Everton defender Ben Godfrey.
Then out of the reckoning at Goodison Park – and eventually demoted to the U21s – Rangers were mentioned as suitors alongside the likes of Tottenham Hotspur.
As things transpired, the centre-back would remain at Everton past the winter window but now his time on Merseyside is finally coming to an end; if would-be suitors are willing to cough up.
According to Sky Sports, Ben Godfrey is at the centre of a bidding war somewhere between the Rhône Valley and Bergamo.
Ligue 1 club Lyon and Serie A transfer rivals Atalanta have reportedly lodged offer of £10m and £8.5m respectively but the Toffees are said to be holding out for £15m.
You can forget any notion that Rangers would be resurrecting that interest this summer then.
That’s if we were ever interested heading into January.
Rangers take new transfer direction
Now it’s not like us to be cynics *cough* but something doesn’t sit quite right with the suggestion we’d move for Ben Godfrey.
On a loan move perhaps a January switch for the 26-year-old might make sense but with high wages and no sell-on value we don’t quite get how such a deal would fit Nils Koppen’s transfer vision at Ibrox.
As for the sorts of fees being mooted down south, forget it.
The transfer links stink of Rangers having their name shoehorned in by agents or journalists to drum up interest or traffic.
Rangers might’ve previously shown a penchant for paying over the odds in the English market but such a time – thankfully – appears to be behind us.
Under Nils Koppen the club has brought in Mohamed Diomande (22) from FC Nordsjælland, Oscar Cortes (21) from RC Lens, Jefte (20) from Fluminense, Clinton Nsiala (20) from AC Milan and Connor Barron (21) from Aberdeen on permanent deals.
Five players with interesting backgrounds, big potential and – perhaps most noticeably – an average age of under 21 years old.
Ben Godfrey might be a good player but the notion Rangers are competing for his signature with these types of fees mooted is nothing short of pie in the sky stuff.
