With their 2-1 win against Hamilton Academical on Friday night, Rangers have won three games in a row now. They are slowly but surely tightening their grips on the second spot in the Premiership. Celtic are running away with the title again this season and Rangers are unlikely to be capable of offering a true title challenge but they should not be too disheartened by that. A second-place finish in their comeback campaign in the Premiership after four years is not that bad at all.
If not for the injury crisis Rangers have suffered in midfield this season, they could have done much better. Summer arrivals Jordan Rossiter, Matt Crooks and Josh Windass have all struggled for fitness since arriving at Ibrox. Marquee signing Niko Kranjcar did start his Rangers career on an impressive note but went down with a season-ending knee injury.
Expectations were big from Joey Barton who joined Rangers from English Championship-winning side Burnley where he was the Player of the Season. But, he did what he does the best and his Rangers career came to a premature end. The Gers do miss creativity in the middle of the park and for that, Warburton is looking to bring Jota from Brentford, a player he used to manage when he was at the club.
Rangers’ hopes of landing Jota have been boosted with the news that La Liga side Eibar will be letting the Spanish midfielder return to his parent club Brentford in January, six months earlier than the return was agreed. Rangers boss Mark Warburton has been strongly linked with a loan move for the Spaniard, who was signed by him at Griffin Park two years ago.
Eibar have hardly used Jota this season. His last start was a Copa del Rey tie against Sporting Gijon in November. He is not wanted back at Brentford either, which is why Rangers should be hopeful about getting their man. The Spanish attacking midfielder excelled under Warburton when the Bees reached the Championship play-offs in his first season at the club.
Jota is exactly what you expect from a Spanish midfielder. He is technically strong, knows to pick out a pass and is a hard-working player. He knows Warburton closely as the duo worked together at Brentford. He will fit in Warburton’s 4-3-3 system quite well. Rangers badly need creativity on their books and Jota can provide them with that.
