Rangers’ comeback season in the Premier League did not go according to plans. They had to wait for four long years to make the top flight after some testing times in the bottom tiers. Many expected the Gers to challenge for the title after their return to the top tier and it was probably a too much of an ask. However, they are pretty much in control of the second spot and have also found their best possible starting XI. The last Old-Firm Derby was a pretty well-contested game but Rangers lost the clash to Celtic in the end as the quality of Hoops was too much for them.
So, what do Rangers miss? The answer is pretty obvious. They lack a match winner, a striker who can score at least 30 goals in all competitions. Just look at Celtic! They have two strikers Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele and both of them can score more than 30. The three Rangers strikers Joe Garner, Martyn Waghorn and Kenny Miller have scored just 18 goals between them in the first half of the season which is far from impressive.
Warburton has certainly addressed the area as per The Birmingham Mail who claims that Rangers are looking to sign Saido Berahino on a free transfer in the summer. The West Brom forward has been a subject of interest from a number of Premier League clubs in the last few transfer windows but the Baggies kept hold of him despite all the interest and are now at a risk of losing him for free in the summer.
Well, West Brom will desperately hope that Berahino’s next club is an English club so that they can get a decent tribunal fee for him. Danny Ings’ tribunal fee, when he joined Liverpool after his contract expired at Burnley, was £8m and Berahino will certainly command a similar fee if not a bigger one, if he moves to any English club. However, if the English striker joins Rangers, West Brom will only get a £500k compensation fee which is literally nothing for a player of his calibre.
Berahino had a brilliant 2014-15 season at Hawthorns when he scored 20 goals in all competitions for the Baggies. After that, he has hardly played for the Midlands club due to both fitness problems and off the pitch issues.
The 23-year-old is certainly a quality player and seems like easily a 30-goal getter in a League like the Premiership. If Warburton can pull this deal off, Rangers could draw very close to Celtic in terms of quality.
