Rangers, under Steven Gerrard, received a huge blow following Hearts’ rejection of a bid of £200,000 for veteran Kyle Lafferty. The Gers are looking to add more quality to their squad before the start of the new season and their pursuit for a marksman has been dealt a blow by this rejection.
The Scottish giants are enjoying an encouraging start to their new campaign following a victory over FK Shkupi in the first round tie of the UEFA Europa League qualifiers and also snatched a hard-fought 1-0 triumph over Croatian outfit Osijek on the road in the first leg encounter of the second round fixture.
The former Liverpool and England midfield icon, however, is worried about the lack of conversion upfront and his search for an experienced marksman has led him to pursue the former Rangers ace. The 30-year-old Northern Ireland international spent four seasons at the Ibrox before their bankruptcy and notched 38 goals in 138 outings across all competitions. Lafferty had his spells in England, Switzerland, Italy and also in Turkey before returning to Scotland to join the Edinburgh outfit where he redefined his scoring streak netting 19 times altogether.
He had difficult years in Norwich City prior to his Bosman move to Tynecastle after being released by the Canaries at the end of the 2016-17 season and is now back on the radar of the Scottish big guns who are willing to buy him in order to make a significant title push.
Gerrard, although having his maiden managerial experience at a senior level, is undergoing a monumental pressure of reclaiming the lost glory by dethroning Celtic from Scottish supremacy who have grabbed a ‘double treble’ over past two seasons, on a run of seven successive Premiership wins and humiliated the Gers on most occasions in the previous term whenever they locked horns in Old Firm derby. Yet he is relishing the challenge and concentrating on a reconfiguration with 10 new signings already.
Alfredo Morelos, the Colombian prodigy, impressed last season in front of goal but struggled in his first two games this term before finding the back of the net against the Croats on Thursday night. Umar Sadiq, the 21-year-old AS Roma loanee, will be competing for a first-team role but neither of them holds experience to perform persistently with a long road ahead in front of them this season.
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Veteran Kenny Miller has been was released upon expiration of his contract whereas Mexican Eduardo Herrera has joined Santos Laguna on a season-long loan following a dismal spell at the Ibrox in his debut campaign. It is to be seen now whether Rangers come up with a revised offer to meet Hearts’ valuation which is way above the tabled offer for their top scorer from last season. There is still time left in the window and the Gers must step up their effort to add a proven name of Lafferty’s stature to restore pride in Premiership football.
