A sizeable section of media (and even us) and the fans of late have been saying that Rangers need a creative playmaker in January and it seems like Steven Gerrard has heard those calls, and he too has confirmed that a no.10 should be a priority for the club in the future. The Gers have been guilty of struggling to go past their opponents when they sit back deep and defend. Gerrard’s side are too heavily dependent on attacking from the wide regions currently but that could change.
Gerrard was quoted as saying,”We have people here who can unlock defences – Scott Arfield, Ovie Ejaria or Daniel Candeias, maybe more from the side. We have those players here but what we haven’t got is a natural No10, someone who is described as No10 and that’s his job. So maybe in the future that might be an area, we might look at.”
We believe the manager handled the situation well as he didn’t blatantly say that his side lacks a creative playmaker as that wouldn’t have gone down too well with the players who are currently playing in that position (Ejaria and Arfield). However, he gave a clear indication that Rangers could be in the market to sign a playmaker.
Arfield probably heard this warning call of new competition coming and put in one of his best performances this weekend as the Gers thrashed Motherwell 7-1 to be just two points off the top of the table. The Canadian international managed two goals and was at his influential best in the final third.
However, the former Burnley midfielder needs to deliver this level of performance consistently to make Gerrard and the fans realise that he happens to be the best option they have. Leading up to the Motherwell game, the manager was frustrated with the performance of his players, especially in the final third.
It remains to be seen whether the Gers would be able to get their man in January as signing a no. 10 is a bit tricky business compared to other positions (as there aren’t many natural no.10 around). The ones who are there could be a bit steeply priced, but the board has indicated that they are going to back Gerrard once again in the transfer market even after he made as many as 15 signings in the summer.
Gerrard had already given the warning that he wouldn’t hesitate to get new players who can deliver the goods in the final third if the current squad doesn’t improve. That seemed to have a positive effect on someone like Arfield, but even then, we believe a signing of a player in January looks definitely on the cards.
