When Glasgow Rangers welcome their bitter rivals to Ibrox on Sunday, it might be their greatest game of the season thus far.
Prior to this encounter, the Light Blues sit one point behind their opponents in the Scottish Premiership, who have played one more game than Philippe Clement’s team.
This means that a place at the top of the table is up for grabs for the winner, as they both fight it out to secure the title before the end of the season.
After winning the League Cup, Clement’s team still has the league and the SFA Cup to contend with before turning their attention to the summer transfer market in an attempt to bolster their roster.
But if rumours are to be believed, the Gers are already considering potential actions to take in front of the 2024–2025 campaign, such as turning one of their current loans into a long-term agreement.
Latest Rangers transfer news
Rangers are eager to make a permanent move to sign Portuguese attacker Fabio Silva from Wolverhampton Wanderers, according to Football Insider.
The Portugal U21 international was signed by the Light Blues on loan from the Premier League team at the beginning of the January transfer window, and they appear to have been impressed enough with him to decide to bring him back for the 2024–25 season and beyond.
According to Football Insider, the Scottish powerhouses are getting ready to speak with Wolves “soon” about a permanent contract for the adaptable forward.
The source goes on to say that Rangers won’t have the funds to make a high-profile approach for the former record-signing for the Old Gold, who paid an incredible £35 million to sign him from Porto.
Since the young diamond made that striking move as a youngster in 2020, he has only made 72 first-team appearances for the English team, scoring five goals and dishing out six assists.
According to the source, the Gers are expecting that Wolves’ have to sell in order to go by Financial Fair Play standards will benefit them in the bargaining process since they want to agree on a discounted rate for his services.
Should Rangers and the Old Gold strike a deal for Silva’s permanent acquisition during the upcoming summer transfer window, they might replicate the masterclass they played with Ryan Kent under Steven Gerrard.
Rangers’ Ryan Kent masterclass
The English winger was signed on loan from Premier League side Liverpool in the summer of 2018 to bolster the club’s attacking options on the flank.
He enjoyed a superb first season on the left wing with a return of six goals and nine assists in 43 appearances in all competitions for the club, including six goals and six assists in 27 matches in the Premiership.
After winning the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award at the conclusion of the 2018–19 campaign due to his outstanding play, the Gers decided to sign him permanently in the summer of 2019 for an alleged fee of £7.5 million.
While the attacker did not instantly improve in the 2019–20 season—he still managed to provide Gerrard with eight goals and four assists across all competitions—his performance in the subsequent campaign was well worth the wait for all parties.
Kent went on to record an incredible 13 goals and 14 assists both domestically and in Europe during that term, as you can see in the table above.
He was recognised in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year and his outstanding attacking efforts helped Rangers win the Premiership, staying undefeated in the process.
Before signing a free transfer to Fenerbahce last summer, Kent played 218 games in all competitions for the Scottish powerhouse, with 33 goals and 56 assists.
So, following his stellar loan, the Light Blues permanently signed the English wizard and enjoyed his skills as a goal scorer and creator over a long period of time. Together, they played a master class with the wizard.
