Rangers enjoyed a productive January transfer window as Ross Wilson completed a number of deals to reshape Gio van Bronckhorst’s squad.
Nathan Patterson left for a club-record fee and the sporting director made the most of that sale by snapping up fresh talent.
Aaron Ramsey, Amad Diallo, James Sands and Mateusz Zukowski all came in, with John Souttar also agreeing a pre-contract deal with the Glasgow giants to join on a free transfer at the end of the season.
The Welsh loanee from Juventus, Ramsey, has scored two goals in his last two Premiership outings as he is starting to show why he was brought to the club. However, Sands, Diallo and Zukowski are all yet to make their breakthrough in the first-team.
They may not be at their sparkling best right now but that does not mean that they are all poor signings by Wilson and the club.
In fact, the Gers have played a blinder with the addition of Zukowski at right-back as he is a player who has the scope to develop into a quality player for the club.
Upon the right-back’s arrival, Wilson claimed that he has “high potential” and his soaring market value over the last 12 months reflects that. Transfermarkt valued him at a measly £180k in May 2021 and his form for Legia Gdansk led to him being valued at £2.25m at the time of his switch to Scotland, which means that his value has risen by 1150% in less than a year.
In the Ekstraklasa this season, he averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.84 across 18 appearances. He managed two goals and one assist from full-back, whilst making an outstanding 3.9 tackles and interceptions per game – winning 5.4 duels per match, with these performances causing his stock to rise.
Meanwhile, Tavernier has made 2.9 tackles and interceptions per game in the Premiership. This suggests that, if he can carry his form over to Scotland, he may be more active defensively than the skipper, although it is unlikely that he will match the Englishman’s six goals and 11 assists.
The Gers veteran turns 31 later this year and could be heading into the final throes of his Ibrox career, with Zukowski lined up to take over from him at right-back in the future.
Whilst the Ibrox faithful may not be seeing the full benefits of this move yet, everything indicates that it is only a matter of time before he shows what he is capable of for the club as they have picked up a gem who is on the up and has room to grow. Wilson played a blinder by picking the 20-year-old up as his value continues to soar and, hopefully, he will be able to fulfill his potential in the coming years.
AND in other news, Gvb now plotting Rangers swoop for “exceptional” monster, he’d be a bargain “diamond”…