Philippe Clement will want to address the key issues in his starting XI as a priority but, what also needs to be taken care of is Rangers severe lack of home grown players.
In short, there needs to be at least eight with a mixture of club trained and association trained players, if this number is bigger then the manager will be able to pick a bigger squad for UEFA competitions.
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Unfortunately, the pickings are slim with most of the top youngsters already in the Premier League which makes Philippe Clement’s job for Rangers a little harder.
Home grown options Philippe Clement can consider for Rangers
Looking at four players in particular, and only those who are out of contract in 2024, these are the best options available to the Gers boss.
Linked with a return to Rangers before, there would be doubts about him being happy to play second fiddle to Jack Butland plus Robby McCrorie’s deal runs until 2025.
The benefit is that he would return as a club trained player.
As a one in, one out option, he would be a sensible replacement for Ben Davies who could attract a decent fee from down south.
His recent performances for Scotland prove that he has developed since his days at Aberdeen.
Playing for Celtic might be the elephant in the room but that shouldn’t be held against a natural number eight who would fit perfectly into how Philippe Clement wants Rangers to play.
Approaching 32 at the end of this season, he would make sense as a replacement for Ryan Jack given his continued injury problems and not block Bailey Rice or Alex Lowry’s progress.
A player once dubbed “mini Messi” and who Steven Gerrard could have signed when he was in Portugal, has been consistently one of MLS’s best players and could occupy one of several roles for Rangers between midfield and attack.
Is he better than Scott Wright or Sam Lammers?
His record in Portugal and the USA suggests that he is.
Philippe Clement will have Leon King, Alex Lowry and Adam Devine as a starting point with Bailey Rice, Zak Lovelace and Johnly Yfeko also set to be eligible for Rangers club trained status soon.
What this leaves though, is a gap for senior players with Robby McCrorie, Ryan Jack and Scott Wright as the only current options, and all three of them could easily leave.
Since Steven Gerrard arrived in 2018, there have been opportunities to sign talented Scottish players but they have all been missed.
As we have seen this season with the left back fiasco, if Philippe Clement gets it right, he shouldn’t have to make sacrifices in his Rangers squad.
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