Rangers Could Secure Lethal Cantwell Partner with £6.8m Star Swoop

Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement has already made his first addition of the summer transfer window, which officially opens for business later this month.

Brazilian left-back Jefte has agreed to join the club on a permanent deal from Fluminense and will compete with Ridvan Yilmaz for a starting spot next season, after Borna Barisic’s exit on a free transfer.

The Light Blues recently confirmed that the Croatia international is one of a number of players moving on from Ibrox this summer; alongside Jon McLaughlin, John Lundstram, Kemar Roofe, and Ryan Jack.

Loanee Fabio Silva, who scored four goals in 18 league games, has also returned to Wolverhampton Wanderers after his short spell in Glasgow.

This means that there is plenty for Clement and head of recruitment Nils Koppen to do between now and the end of the window to replace those who have departed and strengthen the squad to ensure that they can compete with Celtic to win the Scottish Premiership next term.

A new striker appears to be on the agenda for the Light Blues after Roofe’s departure and Cyriel Dessers’ mixed success in his first season with the club, as they are reportedly targeting a signing in that position.

Rangers’ interest in signing £6.8m marksman

Earlier this month, Romanian outlet Digi Sport reported that Rangers are interested in a summer swoop to sign FC Rapid București marksman Albion Rrahmani.

The report claimed that Czech giants Slavia Prague are also keen on a deal to snap up the 23-year-old centre-forward and have already submitted an offer of €3m (£2.5m) to secure his signature.

However, that is significantly lower than the €8m (£6.8m) that the Romanian side are seeking in order to allow their prized asset to walk away from the club ahead of next season.

It added that Rangers are currently willing to offer €6m (£5.1m) for Rrahmani but it remains to be seen whether or not common ground can be found between that €6m and the €8m asking price.

Digi Sport also claimed that Koppen has already held talks with the player’s representatives at the recent TransferRoom summit in Mexico, which suggests that progress has been made in their pursuit of the forward.

Rangers appear to be in the driving seat, ahead of Sparta Prague, but it still remains to be seen if they can reach an agreement with Rapid before the end of the window.

If they can, however, then they could land a lethal partner for Todd Cantwell at the top end of the pitch, as they could form an exciting relationship for the Scottish giants.

Todd Cantwell’s attacking potential for Rangers

Despite having been at Ibrox for around 18 months already, Rangers may not have seen the best of the English attacking midfielder as of yet.

This is because he has yet to play with a consistent and excellent centre-forward who can help to get the best out of the former Norwich City star.

During the 2023/24 campaign, Dessers was the main number nine ahead of the Englishman and the 29-year-old forward left a lot to be desired with his performances.

The Nigeria international scored 16 goals from 21.72 xG in the Premiership, an underperformance of -5.72. No Rangers player underperformed against their xG by more and he missed a staggering 18 more ‘big chances’ (27) than any other forward in the squad.

Meanwhile, Cantwell scored seven goals from 5.49 xG and only Rabbi Matondo (five from 2.93 xG) overperformed his expected tally by more than the attacking midfielder.

As you can see in the table above, the 26-year-old magician also only recorded five assists from 51 key passes and seven ‘big chances’ created in 30 appearances in the Premiership.

This suggests that his teammates did not make the most of his creativity in the final third, which is backed up by Dessers’ significant underperformance as a finisher in the top-flight.

Clement could unlock Cantwell’s full potential in a Light Blues shirt by bringing in a striker who is more likely to finish the chances that are created for him, whilst also being able to create opportunities for the midfielder to showcase his efficient and impressive finishing more often.

Why Rangers should sign Albion Rrahmani

This is why the Scottish giants should push ahead and beat Sparta Prague to the signing of Rrahmani from Rapid as he has the potential to be a big upgrade on Dessers and a lethal partner for the midfield maestro.

The 23-year-old whiz, who has scored an incredible 51 goals in 95 career games at club level to date, was in fantastic goalscoring form this season and could offer more than the Nigerian liability as a finisher.

As you can see in the table above, Rrahmani scored more goals despite missing nine fewer ‘big chances’ and had a far better conversion rate and minutes per goal ratio at league level.

The Kosovo international, who Rangers Journal founder Kai Watson dubbed “powerful”, appears to be a striker who would be more likely to make the most of Cantwell’s creativity than Dessers, who was incredibly wasteful in front of goal, did this season.

Along with his ability to potentially finish chances that the attacking midfielder creates, the £6.8m-rated marksman could also help the ex-Canaries whiz to flourish as a goalscorer.

Rrahmani created an eye-catching 13 ‘big chances’ for his teammates and made 2.0 key passes per game across his 25 Superliga appearances during the 2023/24 campaign.

Whereas, Dessers created eight ‘big chances’ and made 1.4 key passes per match in his 35 Premiership outings for Rangers, which suggests that the Kosovan star could provide far more creativity alongside being a better finisher.

The Light Blues recently confirmed that a number of first-team stars will be moving on this summer.

This is another reason why he would be a lethal partner for Cantwell as the 23-year-old ace could create opportunities for the English ace to showcase his excellent finishing, and vice versa, which is why Clement and Koppen should look to get a deal over the line for him.