Glasgow Rangers chiefs Nils Koppen and Philippe Clement only dipped into the market to make one imminent addition to the side in the January transfer window.
The Light Blues bosses decided that they needed to bolster their options at the heart of the defence and opted to complete a deal to bring Rafael Fernandes in on loan from Lille until the end of the season.
Unfortunately, the 22-year-old gem made his full debut on a hugely disappointing day for the club, as they lost 1-0 to Championship side Queen’s Park at Ibrox.
It was not down to his performance, however, as the Portuguese talent was not at fault for the goal or one of the players tasked with breaking down the opposition’s defence.
Rangers’ centre-back pursuit in January
Fernandes, though, was not the only central defender who was linked with a move to Ibrox during the recent January transfer window, as the Gers seemingly considered a number of options.
Multiple UK-based options were linked with Rangers. Norwich City centre-back Grant Hanley was touted with a return to the club he spent time in the academy at, only to end up signing for Birmingham City instead.
It was also claimed that the Gers board were keen to seal a swoop for Manchester United’s veteran centre-back Jonny Evans, but he remained at Old Trafford.
Further afield, Rangers reportedly made a bid to bring Niko Katic back to Ibrox from FC Zurich, only for him to end up signing for Plymouth Argyle in the English Championship.
Katic, who made 59 appearances for the Light Blues, was sold to Zurich by former Gers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the summer of 2022 and that is a decision that the club must now regret.
Why Rangers should regret selling Niko Katic
The Scottish giants must regret selling the Bosnia international for several reasons. Firstly, they were reportedly interested in bringing him back to the club last month, which suggests that it was a mistake to get rid of him in the first place.
They need cover in the centre-back position and, perhaps, keeping Katic at Ibrox would have meant that they had the required depth in that area of the pitch.
Also, the 28-year-old star’s performance against Liverpool in the FA Cup for Plymouth last weekend shows that he is also a top-quality centre-back who could have been starring for Rangers right now.
Arne Slot selected a Reds front three that included reported £49m signing Luis Diaz, £45m signing Diogo Jota, and £12.5m signing Federico Chiesa – £106.5m worth of talent.
|
Niko Katic |
Vs Liverpool |
|---|---|
|
Minutes |
90 |
|
Goals conceded |
0 |
|
Clearances |
17 |
|
Blocks |
3 |
|
Duels won |
5/6 |
As you can see in the table above, though, Katic dominated those Liverpool attackers throughout the match to keep a clean sheet and progress through to the next round of the FA Cup.
These statistics show that the Plymouth star has the quality to step up and be a defensive “mountain”, as he was once described by Steven Gerrard, when his team needs him.
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The Glasgow Rangers should finally move on from the midfielder at the end of the season.
Therefore, Rangers should regret selling Katic back in 2022 as they have gone on to miss him, given their interest in the defender last month, and he is now thriving in England with his new club.
