The pressure is off under-fire Rangers manager Philippe Clement, for now at least.
On Thursday night, his team booked their place in the Europa League round of 16 by beating Royale Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1 at Ibrox, with Nicolas Raskin heading in the opener, before Václav Černý stroked home the all-important second shortly after half time.
The Light Blues ended the league phase with an impressive points tally of 14, despite, as Clement himself noted, the fact they faced four of the seven sides who finished above them.
The Gers’ Europa League form is once again keeping spirits high, in spite of their, at best, patchy domestic results, but could they sign one of the Scottish Premiership’s best young talents before Monday’s transfer deadline?
Rangers seeking to sign young Scottish talent
As reported by Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider, Rangers have ‘held talks…over a pre-contract agreement’ with Dundee midfielder Lyall Cameron.
Cameron is out of contract in the summer, meaning Rangers would only have to pay compensation for his services, with his manager Tony Docherty describing him as “extremely talented”, adding “it is no surprise when a player like that is out of contract… there will be interest”.
However, there is speculation that the Gers could push to get this deal done in January, with new CEO Patrick Stewart stating the club plan to “accelerate the signing of a player that we were planning anyway”, so could it be Cameron he is referring to?
Transfer Focus
Meantime, speaking on the Scottish Football Social Club on Premier Sports, former Hibs and Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart described Cameron’s potential move as financially low-risk, both in terms of compensation fee as well as wages, while Scottish football writer Kai Watson believes he “has the potential to play at a higher level than the Scottish Premiership”.
Where Lyall Cameron would fit in at Rangers
The 22-year-old has proved to be very versatile this season, deployed all across midfield, although he has particularly shown in the centre of the park.
Well, as it happens, Rangers may have a vacancy in that position because Ianis Hagi, who’s started 11 of the last 12 Premiership matches, is out of contract in the summer and, according to Sahil Jaidka of Sky Sports News, the Romanian is “yet to be offered” a new one.
So, let’s assess how the pair compare.
Statistics
Lyall Cameron
Ianis Hagi
Appearances
29
17
Minutes
2,368
1,203
Goals
8
2
Assists
7
5
Big chances created
4
5
Dribble success %
41.9%
52.6%
Average Sofascore rating
7.16
7.36
Of course, Hagi has played around 1,000 fewer minutes this season, as he recovered from long term injury, hence why he wasn’t included in Rangers’ UEFA squad.
His two goals this season have come in rather contrasting circumstances, scoring against Stenhousemuir in the SPFL Trust Trophy, in front of 525 fans at Forthbank, before netting from distance in front of 100 times that number during a famous Glasgow derby victory in early January.
Cameron does though compare favourably to the Romanian international, scoring more goals and providing more assists, creating just one fewer chance, while playing for a substantially worse side; Rangers average 62.29% possession this season, while Dundee average 45.26%.
All of these statistics suggest Cameron is ready to make the step-up, and would be an excellent, low-cost signing for Rangers, while representing the dream replacement for Hagi should he depart.
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