Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement is reportedly set to get the next few weeks to show that he is the right man to lead the team heading into the new year.
According to Football Insider, the Belgian manager will remain in the dugout until at least the League Cup final clash with Celtic at Hampden Park next month.
The report claims that CEO Patrick Stewart is due to officially start his role a day after the showpiece event and that a decision could then be made on the former AS Monaco chief’s future.
It states that pressure is mounting on Clement after his Rangers side dropped points once again at the weekend, drawing 1-1 with Dundee United at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership.
The Light Blues are now third in the table and 11 points adrift of their rivals at the top, having drawn two and lost three of their league games so far.
Clement may try to convince the board, irrespective of the result between now and the cup final, to allow him to use the January transfer window to turn the season around.
Rangers linked with Premier League centre-forward
According to The Boot Room, Rangers are one a number of clubs showing an interest in signing Brighton & Hove Albion number nine Evan Ferguson.
The report claims that the Gers and Scottish rivals Celtic have both expressed an interest in bringing the Ireland international to Glasgow when the January transfer window opens for business.
Graeme Bailey, the author of the article, reports that both clubs are preparing to offer him a loan move to the Premiership for the second half of the season.
The Boot Room states that Brighton have given the young centre-forward the green light to pursue potential moves away from the AMEX on a temporary basis, given his lack of regular minutes on the pitch this season.
Securing a deal to sign the Irish sensation will not be easy for Rangers or Celtic, however, as the report adds that Premier League sides West Ham, Southampton, Leicester, and Fulham are also eyeing up the 20-year-old, who already has a top-flight hat-trick under his belt.
He is also said to have interest from unnamed clubs in Spain, France, Italy, and Germany, whilst Brighton view him as one of the best young forwards around right now.
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The report also reveals that the Premier League outfit want assurances that Ferguson will play regularly during any loan in the second half of the season, to ensure that the forward is able to play week-in-week-out and continue his development.
Rangers must, now, work hard to ensure that they are able to win the race for the 20-year-old marksman, because their current first-choice number nine has not done enough to suggest that he should be starting every week.
Cyriel Dessers' struggles for Rangers
The Nigeria international, who arrived from Cremonese in the summer of 2023, has not shown the quality needed to be a reliable number nine for the Scottish giants since his move to the club last year.
In the 2023/24 campaign, Dessers ended the Premiership season with a return of 16 goals in 35 appearances for the Gers. That was a solid return on paper but looks far less impressive when you consider that the forward also missed a staggering 27 ‘big chances’ in front of goal.
This shows that the experienced attacker simply did not do enough with the quality of chances that were being created for him by his teammates in the division.
After having a year to settle into life at Ibrox and in Scottish football, some may have hoped that Dessers would improve his consistency in the 2024/25 campaign.
Cyriel Dessers
6.53
4
-2.53
Hamza Igamane
1.47
0
-1.47
James Tavernier
1.45
0
-1.45
Dujon Sterling
1.29
0
-1.29
Robin Propper
1.06
0
-1.06
As you can see in the table above, the Nigerian marksman has been the most wasteful player in the squad, once again, in the Premiership this term, underperforming his xG by more than two goals.
With this in mind, Rangers must attempt to land Ferguson on loan until the end of the season, as the Irishman has the potential to come in as a big upgrade on Dessers.
Why Evan Ferguson could be a big upgrade on Cyriel Dessers
Despite only turning 20 in October, the Brighton youngster has already showcased his ability in front of goal at the top level in the Premier League.
He has made 54 appearances for the Seagulls in the top division of English football and scored an impressive, given his age, 13 goals, to go along with two assists.
The most eye-catching part of his record in the Premier League is that his tally of 13 goals has come from an xG of 9.80, which means that he has scored 3.20 more goals than the average player would be expected to score from the quality of chances created.
He has also scored four goals in 18 caps for Ireland at senior level and produced 18 goals in 39 matches for Brighton at U23 level, to further illustrate his goalscoring capabilities.
Appearances
27
7
Starts
15
1
xG
4.61
0.15
Goals
6
1
Duel success rate
40%
37%
As you can see in the table above, Ferguson has scored seven goals from 4.76 xG in the league for Brighton since the start of last season, but has also lost the majority of his physical duels, which may be why he has struggled for starts.
Dessers, however, has only won 34% of his duels in the Premiership this season, which suggests that Ferguson could even come in as an upgrade on the Rangers striker in one of the weakest aspects of his own game.
Meanwhile, the Brighton gem, who was hailed as “phenomenal” by teammate James Milner, also has the quality to be a huge upgrade on the Nigerian flop as a goalscorer for the Gers, given their respective finishing quality.
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Ferguson, based on his Premier League form, is a striker who can more than make the most of the high-quality chances that Rangers create, whilst Dessers continues to let the team down with his poor finishing, and that is why the Gers must swoop to bring him in in January.
