According to the latest reports from the Daily Record, Rangers have been linked with a move for Iraqi striker Mohanad Ali. The 18-year-old is considered as once in a generation talent in his country, and the young prodigy already has 13 national caps. It is believed that the player’s agent and the Gers have been in talks over a possible loan move. However, any discussion of a switch happening this month is still at a very early stage.
The striker is currently representing his nation in the Asia Cup where he has looked the part and scored a brilliant solo goal against Yemen. In 13 appearances, he already has eight goals for his national side, and the youngster seems like a natural talent in front of goal.
The striker can operate anywhere across the final third and can play just behind the striker as well. Steven Gerrard had earlier indicated (The Scottish Sun) that signing a natural no. 10 is his priority in the January transfer window. So far they haven’t signed any player with such characteristics. Therefore, the gaffer could be eyeing this Iraqi sensation as a possible answer.
The forward currently plies his trade in the Iraqi league for Al- Shorta SC and is currently in the last six months of his contract. Therefore there is every chance of him making a move this month or signing a pre-contract agreement (our opinion).
Rangers have already signed Jermain Defoe on an 18-month loan, and they already have Kyle Lafferty and Alfredo Morelos at their disposal. Therefore we feel they are well covered in the striker’s department for the time being. However, Ali seems to be a considerable talent and a loan spell to test him out at Ibrox won’t be a bad idea.
There is no doubt that the change in quality and level of football would test him in Glasgow and it would be interesting to see whether he would be able to cope with the tempo and physicality of the Scottish game. As of now, there is no guarantee shown by the player that he can be a big hit here.
Rangers brought in Umar Sadiq who was coming from a club like AS Roma and was highly rated. However, he struggled to even get into matchday squads later on in his loan spell and was sent back to his parent club early. So that shows even some of the top talents from top clubs struggle to make it here. It would be interesting to see how keen the Bears are on Ali as the talks of a loan spell are currently in its nascent stage.
