Search icon

Football

23rd Jun 2018

Steven Gerrard closes in on Roma striker as eighth Rangers signing

Patrick McCarry

Steven Gerrard has only splashed out £6 million in transfer fees for his seven signings, to date, but he may have to stump up a bit more.

The days of Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup playing at Ibrox are a distant memory.

The Scottish giants hit rough financial waters just under a decade ago and have been forced to claw their way back to the Premiership, but remain well back from top dogs Celtic.

The arrival of Steven Gerrard has certainly brought an added interest in Rangers’ affairs, and he may yet inspire them to mount a proper challenge to Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic.

Even before he got his feet under the desk, Gerrard had been informed that Rangers would be getting Burnley midfielder Scott Arfield and Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor in on free transfers. Since then, Gerrard has brought in:

  • Connor Goldson – £3m
  • Nikola Katic – £2m
  • Jamie Murphy – £1m
  • Jon Flanagan – free
  • Ovie Ejaria – free

The former Liverpool and England midfielder is not finished yet. The Daily Record has linked the Gers with a move for Roma forward Umar Sadiq.

The 21-year-old from Nigeria has been with Roma since 2016, after he impressed during a loan spell from Serie B side Spezia. Since penning a three-year deal with Roma, Sadiq has been loaned out to three other clubs.

He failed to find the net during loan swaps to Bologna and Torino but he did score five in 12 outings when he was loaned out to Dutch side NAC Breda.

Rangers are short on goal-scorers at present, Kenny Miller and Jason Cummings left the club earlier this month while Eduardo Herrera was left at home when the Scots headed to Spain for pre-season training. Alfredo Morelos is the only senior team forward that made the trip to Spain.

The 6-foot-4 forward has played for Nigeria’s U23 side but was not considered for the senior side’s World Cup squad.

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10