Despite being favourites to land Sunderland outcast Dan Neil, Rangers are now facing a strong challenge from Ipswich Town, who are reportedly leading the pack after stepping up their interest this weekend. The Light Blues might have to shift their focus elsewhere, and according to Record Sport, Danny Rohl rates Jens Hjerto-Dahl highly, having identified the Tromsø midfielder as a potential January target.
However, the Glasgow giants are only monitoring the youngster and have yet to table an offer. They are not alone in the hunt for the Norway youth international, as a host of European outfits have scouted him extensively in the recent past.
Why Rangers Need Someone of Hjerto-Dahl’s Profile
The 20-year-old midfield prodigy progressed through the academy ranks of Tromsø, his boyhood club, before securing a regular role for the reserves in the fourth division of the Norwegian football league. Soon, he was promoted to the first-team squad, and his composure and all-round traits earned him 87 senior appearances for Gutan.
He has netted 12 times and laid on 9 more as a central midfielder, thus alerting his suitors, including Brighton & Hove Albion, Leeds United, Bournemouth and Sunderland south of the border.
Rangers have bolstered their midfield by roping in Tochi Chukwuani from Sturm Graz. But they have already parted ways with two of their fringe stars: Lyall Cameron, who joined Aberdeen on loan, and Kieran Dowell, who moved to Hull City on a permanent transfer. Joe Rothwell, failing to stake a claim in Rohl’s plans, has emerged as a target for Sheffield United. Injuries to Connor Barron and Bailey Rice leave them with Mohamed Diomande and Nicolas Raskin as the only other options in the middle of the park.
How Rangers Should Utilise Hjerto-Dahl
With Rothwell’s failure to drive the game from the base as a deep-lying playmaker, the gaffer must be eyeing a ‘number 6’ who would dictate the tempo while marshalling the backline. Barron’s injury has forced Raskin to operate as a makeshift defensive midfielder, thus limiting his creative spark in and around the attacking third.
Although Hjerto-Dahl is not an outright ‘number 6’ like Neil, his physicality, positional awareness, timely tackles, interceptions and ability to disrupt opposition attacks should see him hold the game up before scripting transitions from the deep with his vision and distribution. Chukwuani is likely to challenge and cover Diomande, his Nordsjælland teammate, as a box-to-box midfielder, and the Norwegian should be considered as a utility option in Rohl’s flexible midfield setup.
