The start of Glasgow Rangers’ season is now fast approaching with the Gers’ first pre-season fixture taking place a week on Saturday, with the start of European qualifying coming up as soon as 22 July.
That’s all before the new Rangers manager, Russell Martin, will commence his Scottish Premiership campaign on Saturday 2 August.
Ahead of that busy fixture list, the Light Blues have been busy off the field overhauling their squad, so could they secure a “phenomenal” new signing in the process?
Rangers' busy transfer activity
On Wednesday, Max Aarons put pen to paper, joining Rangers on a season-long loan from Bournemouth.
He is the club’s second signing of the summer, after Lyall Cameron, but many more are forecast in the coming days and weeks.
Indeed, according to a report by EFL analysis, new manager Martin is targeting a move to bring in goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who he signed for Southampton just 12 months ago, for a reported fee of £25m.
Bailey adds that, due to the fact he is earning £120,000-per-week, the Saints are willing to sanction a loan ‘with an option to buy’ for Ramsdale this summer; Wolves and Leeds United also ‘interested’,
A fee could prove prohibitive for Rangers, given that their record-signing of the post-liquidation era is the £7.5m spent on Ryan Kent in 2019.
Nevertheless, with Southampton looking to offload, thereby open to a loan move, could the England international end up in Glasgow?
Why Aaron Ramsdale would be a game-changing signing for Rangers
Max Aarons has arrived at Rangers to much excitement, and rightly so.
The 24-year-old did just endure a pretty miserable campaign, barely featuring for Bournemouth, thereby spending the second half of the season on loan at Valencia, albeit he then made only five appearances for los Murciélagos, totalling a miserly 208 minutes.
Nevertheless, the youngster is still a player of great potential, almost joining Tottenham for £15m as a teenager, with Tom Quartly of Breaking the Lines asserting that he offers ‘fluidity in both attacking and defensive phases’ from full-back.
Aarons’ arrival does bring into question the future of Rangers’ two existing right-backs, namely captain and long-serving stalwart James Tavernier, as well as the promising Dujon Sterling, as this was not an area of obvious need.
The same, however, cannot be said about goalkeeper, with the potential arrival of Ramsdale addressing a pressing issue.
After arriving two years ago, for so long, Jack Butland was Rangers’ undisputed number one, starting 102 of his first 111 matches at the club, before being dropped by interim manager Barry Ferguson, following a sequence of high-profile errors, hence why deputy Liam Kelly got the nod for the Europa League quarter-final tie against Athletic Club.
Even though the Scotland international shot-stopper dramatically saved Álex Berenguer’s late penalty in the first leg at Ibrox, the table below emphasises that neither Kelly nor Butland are perhaps what Martin is looking for.
Goals against per 90
1.11
3rd
1
2nd
Save %
65.5%
17th
67.9%
11th
Clean sheet %
37.5%
5th
40%
4th
So, would Ramsdale be a major upgrade?
Well, former Arsenal goalkeeper asserted that Ramsdale’s performances for the Gunners as “phenomenal”, while manager Mikel Arteta described him as “exceptional”, following a man of the match performance during a 2-2 draw at Anfield two seasons ago.
So, let’s take a deeper look at his statistics in the Premier League.
Saves
120 (2nd)
94 (10th)
Save %
67.6% (15th)
70.6% (11th)
Post-shot xG – goals conceded
-0.08 (17th)
-0.05 (12th)
% of crosses stopped
5.5% (16th)
5.8% (16th)
Short passes attempted
1,026 (9th)
956 (8th)
The table includes last season, when Ramsdale was plying his trade for a historically terrible Southampton team, hence why only Mark Flekken made more saves than he did, as well as his final campaign as Arsenal’s number one, this 2022/23.
While the England international’s statistics don’t all leap off the page, it is clear that he is certainly a Premier League-level goalkeeper and a very good one at that, one that should not be playing for the team at the bottom of the division, that’s for sure.
His passing numbers are also impressive, which would very much fit into Martin’s style that prioritises control through possession.
Thus, if Rangers are able to lure him north of the border, this would be a massive coup, especially considering the trials and tribulations endured by Butland and Kelly last season.
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