Gio does Gers a favour by dumping '22 transfer target: Report

09/17/2024 02:30 PM

Rangers needed to get creative in the transfer window with Philippe Clement inheriting a wage bill that had to be trimmed. 

Early reports suggest anything between £6-8m has been cut with the squad profile significantly younger than the one he inherited. 

This doesn't mean that the manager wouldn't welcome some experience if the price is right with one former Rangers target now on the free agent market that Clement suggested that he could dip his toes into. 

• READ MORE:Rangers Net Transfer Spend Summer 2024

Former Rangers target Daniel Amartey released by Besiktas

In 2022, Rangers were linked with a move for Daniel Amartey, a player who currently has 55 caps for Ghana and is still in his prime as a defender at just 29-years old. 

Ironically, it was the manager who wanted to bring him to Ibrox who has just released him with Giovanni van Bronckhorst now in charge and doing well at Besiktas. 

Comfortable at right-back or centre-half, Amartey would be another quality option for an area of the park that has seen a lot of experience leave in the summer. 

What it would also do, is allow Philippe Clement to play another of his new signings where he might do his best work.

Signed on deadline day, Neraysho Kasanwirjo is the sort of player who every manager loves. 

Could Amartey signing free up Rangers utility men for midfield?

Capable of playing anywhere along the defence, it is yet to be seen where he will actiually play.

Alfons Arts, the 22-year old’s former coach at Groningen gave an insight into where else the Kasanwirjo might be deployed: 

"He's an aggressive defender who plays on the front foot. The only problem is sometimes when he goes into a duel, Nana is too focused on keeping the ball – sometimes when you duel you need to only make sure that your opponent doesn't keep the ball. That's one area in which he can improve.

"The advantage for Nana is that he's strong on the ball and capable of playing in midfield – so he can choose moments to influence the game not only on the sideline but in the middle of the pitch too.

"You see with a lot of clubs now, full-backs can be wingers or play low by the sidelines, sometimes inside the pitch too. That's a position he can fill very well.

"On the ball, Nana takes a lot of risks in his dribbling and passing but he is normally very comfortable in possession. Another area of improvement is that sometimes, he can be a player who is totally focused for 89 minutes but in one moment everything can be blown away.

"I think playing next to Robin Propper would be good for him, to coach him through the game. Those two could be a very good couple in the defence.

"Not dissimilar to the partnership that Propper had with Mees Hilgers (a faster, young centre-back) at FC Twente. They speak the same language which can be an important detail on the pitch."

As a physical, dynamic, ball playing defender, it is easy to see why Kasanwirjo has been deployed in midfield in the past.

It is also easy to draw comparisons with Dujon Sterling, who has barely kicked a ball in his preferred right-back role.

Amartey would provide the sort of competition and cover that would allow Clement to use Kasanwirjo and Sterling in midfield knowing that James Tavernier can still be rotated.

A lot has changed in two years, however, a player with Amartey's CV on a free transfer remains a decision that makes a lot of sense.