Rangers ready to pay for “quality” Igamane replacement

Russell Martin’s mass-squad overhaul at Rangers is in full swing.

So far this summer, the Ibrox side have signed Lyall Cameron and Max Aarons, but plenty more arrivals are forecast in the coming weeks and days, with the start of Champions League qualifying just over three weeks away.

Now, centre-forward has to be a priority position for the Light Blues, so have they identified their dream target?

Rangers targeting a new striker

Rangers’ selection of centre-forwards could look rather different come the start of next season.

As has been widely reported for weeks, AEK Athens are attempting to sign Cyriel Dessers, with the Greek side having bid £5m for the Nigerian international, while Rangers are holding out for £6m.

Meantime, Hamza Igamane appears poised to depart too, with Lille leading the race to sign him, but Foot Mercato claim that fellow Ligue 1 clubs Strasbourg and Rennes are ‘still in the running’ to secure the Moroccan’s signature.

Thus, potentially in the market for two new strikers, Israeli outlet 5 Sport claim that Rangers are ‘willing to pay’ Maccabi Tel Aviv’s £5m asking price for Dor Turgeman.

They add that a deal will not be finalised until either Dessers or Igamane are sold, but that Turgeman ‘has expressed a desire’ to join the Glasgow giants.

Blair Meikle of the Glasgow Times also notes that the Israeli Premier League champions have already signed Ion Nicolaescu from Heerenveen this summer, further evidence that they’re preparing for life after Turgeman, but what would he bring to Rangers?

Why Dor Turgeman could be Rangers’ next Alfredo Morelos

It’s pretty impossible to dispute the fact that, since Rangers won promotion back to the Premiership nine years ago, Alfredo Morelos is the best striker they have had.

After joining from HJK Helsinki for a reported fee of £1m in June 2017, the Colombian international scored 124 goals in 269 appearances for the Gers, becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer in Europe, breaking Ally McCoist’s long-standing record.

So, let’s take a look at how el Bufalo compares to the club’s other strikers from the past decade.

As the table outlines, none of Rangers’ other centre-forwards come close to Morelos when it comes to longevity, as well as his sheer volume of goals in UEFA competitions; only Henrik Larsson, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar have ever scored more than his 32 goals in the Europa League, when qualifiers are included.

So, could Turgeman replicate his success?

Well, writer Kai Watson labels the Israeli “quality”, adding he has “room to improve”, while adding elsewhere that he is “lethal inside the box” and an excellent ball carrier.

So, let’s assess Turgeman’s recent career statistics.

As the table underlines, Turgeman took his goalscoring exploits to new heights last season, finishing as the third-highest scorer in Ligat ha’Al.

He has also earned international recognition, a key figure in the Israel team that reached the semi-finals of the U21 Euros two years ago, scoring against Germany during that tournament, before opening his senior account against Norway back in March.

Pertinently, with regards to the Morelos comparison, the 21-year-old does have five goals in UEFA competitions to his name so far, netting against Panevėžys, TSC Bačka Topola, Celje and, most notably, Real Sociedad in either the Conference League or Europa League across the last two seasons.

Nene Afadzinu of Football Talent Scout outlines how Turgeman operates best as a ‘focal point’, while praising his ‘excellent first touch’, hold-up play and pressing.

Thus, the Israeli has already shown plenty of quality at a young age, meaning he appears to have all the attributes to be a success at Ibrox and prove to be the perfect Igamane replacement.

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