Even though there are four Premiership matches still to play, Rangers supporters’ focus is very much on their plans for the summer.
Sunday sees the final Old Firm of the season, with the Gers actually targeting a third successive victory over their fiercest rivals, although it hasn’t helped much, given that Celtic sit 17 points clear at the top, crowned champions last weekend.
If Rangers are going to bridge that gap over the summer, they’ll need to get their recruitment spot on, so could bringing a “massive talent” in on loan prove to be a smart move?
Arne Engels' impact this season
On deadline day last summer, as a replacement for Matt O’Riley, Celtic broke their transfer record to sign Arne Engels from Augsburg for a reported £11m.
So, has the Belgian proved to be good value for money this season?
Let’s have a look at the midfielder’s statistics to help decide.
Appearances
48
Minutes
3,017
Goals
10
Penalty goals
8
Assists
12
Big chances created
14
As the table outlines, Engels’ output this season is pretty impressive this season, albeit his goal-scoring numbers are somewhat inflated by the fact he has converted eight penalties.
Nevertheless, at 21-years-old, there’s still plenty of time for him to come good and, flipping it to Rangers, they simply cannot afford to spend £11m on a player, their record signing of the modern-era is the £7m paid to make Ryan Kent’s move permanent in 2019.
So, should the Gers utilise the loan market to add quality to their squad, with another ex-Liverpool youngster potentially available?
Rangers' midfield target
As outlined already this week, Rangers may have the chance to reignite their prior January interest in Bobby Clark, with the youngster in line for a loan exit from Red Bull Salzburg this summer.
The 20-year-old spent time in Birmingham, Newcastle and then Liverpool’s academies, making his breakthrough on Merseyside, appearing 14 times for the Reds’ first team, most notably winning the EFL Cup against Chelsea at Wembley.
Then, last summer, after Jürgen Klopp’s long-time assistant Pepijn Lijnders was appointed as Salzburg’s new manager, he convinced the Austrian Bundesliga side to pay £10m to secure his services, the third-biggest fee Salzburg have ever paid.
Fair to say, this has not worked out for anyone involved; Lijnders was sacked just before Christmas, while die Roten Bullen remain fourth in the table, on course for their lowest finish in two decades, set to enter the Conference League in the second qualifying round, having featured in the Champions League group phase in each of the last six seasons.
As a whole, this campaign has been a complete catastrophe for Salzburg, while it’s not gone much better for Clark personally.
Appearances
24
13th
Minutes
1,142
16th
UCL minutes
326
14th
Goals
1
=12th
Assists
2
=9th
Due to his lack of minutes, a report by Christoph Nister of Kronen Zeitung claims that the plan is for Clark to be loaned out next season, so should Rangers make a move?
Well, despite the fact it has not worked out for Clark in Austria, he is still a quality player.
Newcastle reporter Lee Ryder has hailed him as a “really exciting player”, Ciaran Varley of BBC Sport is impressed by his ‘fast footwork’ and eye for goal, while Caoimhe O’Neill of The Athletic described him as an “attacking midfielder” who “plays close to the striker” and “is very athletic”.
So, let’s analyse how he compares to the aforementioned Engels – with the pair noted as similar players in this season’s Champions League, as per FBref.
Non-penalty goals
31%
31%
Shots
23%
54%
Assists
28%
94%
Shot-creating actions
43%
70%
Pass completion
47%
4%
Progressive passes
32%
37%
Progressive carries
71%
52%
Successful take-ons
42%
36%
Tackles
83%
71%
Interceptions
24%
20%
Touches
68%
64%
As the table outlines, Clarke and Engels are stylistically very similar, with the Englishman actually coming out on top for a high proportion of these Champions League statistics this season, which is made all the more impressive by the fact that Salzburg were generally hopeless in that competition, losing seven of eight fixtures, finishing third-bottom.
Thus, Clark would certainly be worth Rangers taking a punt on, a move that the 20-year-old may find even more attractive, if a certain Steven Gerrard is re-appointed manager.
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