When the Premiership season kicked off last weekend, Rangers fans would probably have been in a pretty upbeat mood, owing largely to the free-flowing style of football that was practised by Gerrard’s men during their pre-season fixtures. The permanent acquisition of Ianis Hagi has obviously had a positive impact on the team, while Leon Balogun’s introduction added some much-needed cover in defence as well. The only real area of concern for the Ibrox faithful might have been the reports linking their main striking option Alfredo Morelos, with a switch to Ligue 1 side Lille.
A few days ago, the departure of Morelos would’ve left an inexplicably large hole in this Rangers squad, but the two signings that were announced on Tuesday have thrown light on the situation at hand. The Gers’ desire to acquire a new striker in case Morelos departs has been no secret, but not even the most optimistic of Rangers fans would’ve thought that they’d get two high-quality striker signings announced in the matter of just one day. While the acquisition of Cedric Itten is an exciting piece of business, it must be conceded that the signing of Kemar Roofe has the potential to turn things up a notch at the Ibrox this season.
Here’s An Analysis Of Rangers’ New Signings – Kemar Roofe And Cedric Itten:
Analysis Of Rangers’ New Signings – Kemar Roofe And Cedric Itten
Kemar Roofe
The former Leeds United striker spent the 19/20 campaign playing in the Belgian top-flight for Anderlecht. Despite making the switch for a relatively hefty price, the forward was unable to nail down a place for himself in the side. With that said though, it must be conceded that the Gers’ primary point of attraction in signing the Jamaican must be his numbers from the last few seasons. The attacker scored 14 times for Leeds United in the Championship during the 18/19 campaign, where he singlehandedly almost carried the Whites into the Premier League.
Having failed to achieve promotion, the attacker decided that a move away would be the best thing for his future, but things haven’t gone quite to plan in Belgium. Roofe tends to be a deadly finisher of the ball in the final third, and he is a very different kind of striker to Alfredo Morelos. Not afraid to use his physical prowess for the benefit of the team, the Jamaican boasts good upper body strength as well as ball-retention skills. Adept at holding the ball up and bringing teammates into the game, the likes of Ianis Hagi and Ryan Kent could seriously benefit from playing alongside the former West Brom man.
Cedric Itten
The 23-year-old, unlike Roofe, has no prior experience of playing in Britain, and could hence need some more time to settle into the gritty nature of Premiership football. Itten boasts a skill-set that is perhaps the exact opposite of what Alfredo Morelos adds to this Rangers attack-line. Unlike the Colombian, the Swiss forward is almost 1.9m tall, and hence gets a majority of his work done using his physical superiority. A dominant presence in either box, Itten has the potential to develop into a top striker in the seasons to come.
The Gers’ search for a target man has been no secret, and there’s no denying that a player like the former St.Gallen man offers something extremely unique when compared to the strikers they currently possess in the arsenal. Morelos and Defoe both tend to make attempts to run in behind and find spaces in between rather than taking the direct approach of getting the ball into the box. At 23, Itten’s numbers last season read 19 goals and six assists from 34 league fixtures, and there’s no denying that he could develop into the ideal target man for the Scottish game.
