Rangers could pursue deals for Lennon Miller and Connor Barron following John Lundstram’s Celtic upheaval.
John Lundstram’s awful Rangers performance against Celtic may have been his last for the club, and it has undoubtedly increased the likelihood of a pair of previously linked prospective new signings. The Ibrox midfielder is slated to join Trabzonspor when his contract expires this summer, while Ryan Jack is also expected to leave after major injury troubles throughout his Gers career.
And if Philippe Clement needed any indication that his midfield needs work, he received it on Saturday (11 May) with another poor Old Firm derby defeat. That is undoubtedly the most important aspect of the quest for supremacy in Scotland against Brendan Rodgers’ current team, where Callum McGregor, Matt O’Riley, and Reo Hatate began in the 2-1 triumph, but Clement’s trio of Lundstram, Mohamed Diomande, and Tom Lawrence did not come close to matching up. Diomande, who arrived in January, has showed enough positive indicators to suggest he can be a future building block, but Dujon Sterling should have started there and possibly would have if there hadn’t been so many other injuries.
But it was a sign of how bad the midfield was at Parkhead that Nico Raskin’s second-half substitution made a noticeable difference, although too late, after the Belgian had become a forgotten man following an alarming deterioration in his second season. Even if two veteran options weren’t on their way out, the latest derby disappointment has all but ended hopes of an unlikely SPFL title. Clement and Nils Koppen will now know the centre of the park needs work this summer, and Aberdeen’s exit-bound Connor Barron and Motherwell sensation Lennon Miller are two options who have already been tipped as future Rangers players.
Barron, 21, was nominated for the Football Writers’ Young Player of the Year award after a campaign where he has made 38 total appearances and started regularly in the second half of the season, but is due to move on for minimal compensation after failing to agree a new contract at Pittodrie.
That would overcome the usual difficulties of doing business with the Dons and allow Clement to land a developing talent who has proven his ability in Scotland for a knockdown price.
Miller, on the other hand, is only 17 years old but was shortlisted for both the Football Writers’ and the PFA Young Player awards, losing out to Kilmarnock’s David Watson, and has already been identified as an obvious target for the Light Blues. In his debut season as a first-team regular, the teenager has made 35 total appearances for Stuart Kettlewell’s side, including a standout performance in the 3-1 defeat to Celtic on February 25, and a move to Motherwell is thought to be a viable option. Clement has all sorts of areas to focus on in the forthcoming transfer window, and previously, a striker, maybe Lawrence Shankland, might have been priority number one, but Cyriel Dessers’ growth and the dreadful midfield performance.
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