Rangers’ hierarchy have got plenty of work to do this summer at Ibrox, and not a whole lot of time in which to do it.
The club are still searching for a new manager while, following a trophyless campaign, a mass-squad overhaul at Rangers is required.
Well, they need to act fast, because next season will commence early for the Gers, facing off in a Champions League qualifier on 22/23 July; the identity of their opponents will be confirmed on 18 June.
So, could the Light Blues be poised to make a statement signing?
Rangers targeting a new attacker
According to a report by Ola Gustavsson of Fotboll Direkt, Rangers are ‘interested’ in signing Oskar Fallenius, who is also reportedly a target for fierce rivals Celtic.
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He is a 23-year-old winger who plays for Allsvenskan side Djurgardens, a key figure in the Blue Stripes’ side that reached this season’s Conference League semi-finals, ousted by eventual winners Chelsea.
Freddie Arnesson of TuttoSvenskan labels Fallenius’ performances ‘incredible’, but it is difficult to know his valuation, although, having arrived from Brøndby for just two million kronor, around £155k, two years ago, Djurgardens are likely to enjoy a massive return on investment.
So, could the attack soon be swapping Stockholm for Glasgow?
Why Fallenius would be a great Cerny replacement
Following the end of the Premiership season, Rangers announced that Vaclav Cerny will return to his parent club Wolfsburg, with David Irvine of the National inferring that he will not be returning, even though the Czechia has previously stated “every opportunity is still open”.
Well now, some reports now suggest that Turkish Süper Lig side Trabzonspor have “opened talks” with Wolfsburg over a potential £9m move for Cerny, thereby surely pricing Rangers out of any potential deal.
This would be a major blow, with the table below underlining how important the winger was to Rangers last season.
Appearances
52
4th
Minutes
3,933
5th
Goals
18
2nd
Assists
9
3rd
Europa League goals
6
1st
Shots per match
2.9
1st
Big chances created
9
5th
Key passes per match
2.5
1st
Successful dribblers per match
1.4
1st
Average SofaScore rating
7.40
2nd
Only Cyriel Dessers scored more goals for Rangers throughout the campaign, while Cerny’s tally of six Europa League goals was only eclipsed by Bruno Fernandes, Kasper Høgh and Ayoub El Kaabi across the entire tournament.
So, as it seems he will not be returning to Ibrox, would Fallenius be equipped to be his replacement?
Well, prior to Djurgardens’ extra time victory over Rapid Wien in the Conference League quarter-finals, manager Jani Honkavaara told Fallenius to be “the X-factor”, with Marcus Christenson of the Guardian adding that he is one of the Swedish club’s ‘key’ attackers.
So, how do his statistics compare to those of Cerny?
Shots on target
1.5
2.0
Chances created
1.4
0.3
Pass accuracy %
70%
75%
Crossing accuracy %
28%
12%
Take-ons completed
2.6
1.0
Take-on success %
56%
36%
Duels won
3.6
4.7
Ball recoveries
4.8
4.2
As the table outlines, Cerny’s statistics are, unsurprisingly, more impressive, albeit Fallenius’ numbers are largely comparable, coming out on top when it comes to both passing and shooting accuracy while he also more than does his job defensively, winning more duels and averaging a similar number of ball recoveries.
Thus, while it is going to be nigh on impossible for Rangers to find someone out there replicating Cerny’s output, the young Swede could be a low-cost, high-potential option.
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