'One of the worst players in the league': Rangers must heed warning with potential £10m Cerny replacement
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They say you should never fall in love with a loan player but, as Vaclav Cerny takes on talisman status at Ibrox, that is certainly easier said than done from a Rangers perspective.
It’s almost impossible to imagine, now, that there was a time when the VFL Wolfsburg loanee was eliciting jeers rather than cheers from some sections of the Rangers fanbase.
Vaclav Cerny pleaded with the Gers faithful to back him rather than boo him following a poor display against Hibernian and a missed sitter against Lyon back in October.
The quality of his football has said more than words ever could since Hibs came to town that bleak Saturday afternoon, however. Not only is Cerny one shy of breaking the 20-goal barrier for goals and assists as a Rangers player, the former FC Twente winger has provided an emphatic riposte to those who felt the Glasgow giants would never manage to adequately replace the threat of Daniel Candeias on the right-hand side.
Of course, with the Czech Republic international only at Ibrox on a temporary basis – and as Wolfsburg demand an £8 million fee Rangers cannot afford – a slow-burning love story could yet end in bitter heart-break.
Morgan Whittaker form should warn Rangers off potential Vaclav Cerny replacement
After being priced out of a move for Abdallah Sima in 2024, history could be repeated one year on.
So it would be a dereliction of duty, really, if Rangers were not at least drawing up a list of potential replacements. Malaysian rising star Arif Aiman Hanapi has been linked, and would cost only a fraction of the fee Wolfsburg want for Cerny.
Morgan Whittaker may yet enter the picture once again, meanwhile. The Plymouth Argyle schemer was Rangers’ proposed answer to that right-wing issue before Cerny breezed in and solved the equation.
It is two years since Rangers tried and failed three times to lure Morgan Whittaker away from Plymouth, however. A steep decline in both his performances and his output mean the Championship strugglers are unlikely to see their eye-watering £10 million price-tag met any time soon.
A bid from promotion-chasing Burnley, per BBC Sport, sits at just half that fee.
Yet, on current form, £5 million for a winger with only four goals and one assist from 22 appearances still feels steep. Arguably no player in England’s second tier has endured a fall from grace quite as dramatic as this, Whittaker ending 2023/24 with 19 goals and eight assists to his name.
“Can we start with a really searing hot take?,” EFL expert Ali Maxwell says when asked about the prospect of Middlesbrough joining Burnley in a bidding war for the ex-Swansea City youngster.
“I think that he has been one of the worst players in his position in the league this season.”
Plymouth’s Wayne Rooney replacement certainly captured the imagination on social media when his impassioned speech to the Argyle team went viral following his appointment a few weeks back.
But Miron Muslic’s message does not appear to have got through to Whittaker, Plymouth’s prized asset conspicuous by his absence during Wednesday’s humiliating if not entirely unpredictable 5-0 home defeat by the aforementioned Burnley.
"He was in the selection [but Whittaker did not] turn up,” a frustrated Muslic sighed. "It shows the mentality, or even the lack of mentality.
"I think you always have your responsibilities and you are under contract.”
- READ MORE:Rangers Players Loaned Out 2024/25
Philippe Clement admits Cerny may not stay at Ibrox
Talking of contracts, Cerny’s runs out at the end of the current campaign. Rangers may not be rushing to renew their interest in Whittaker any time soon – especially with that £10 million price-tag dwarfing Wolfsburg’s own demands – meaning Clement and co may soon be back at square one in their pursuit of a long-term right-wing fix.
"We don’t have the money to buy Vaclav for the moment,” Clement told reporters in December. “We didn’t have the money to buy Abdallah [Sima] at that moment [either].
“Vaclav loves it here, clearly. He told me that he never felt better in his career than now physically, mentally, in the team, in the dressing room, with the staff, in the club, with the fans, everything…
“But, of course, he has a contract with another club.”
