Steven Gerrard was crying out for a missing “spark” in early 2020 with his side struggling to break down deep lying defences in a run of form that saw their chances of winning their first title since 2011 evaporate and the recent struggles of a Premier League side could present a controversial opportunity to rectify this.
Rangers central midfield is not universally known for it’s creativity, Scott Arfield and Joe Aribo would potentially have hit double figures for goals and assists for the season had it not been cut short but they have also spent an amount of time playing in more advanced positions for a possession dominant team.
Gerrard’s go to midfield for big games is usually Glen Kamara, Steven Davis and Ryan Jack, all perfectly competent ball winners and passers of the ball but not regular goal scorers.
With the news that Southampton could be forced into a fire sale, there is one player on their books who could represent exactly what Rangers need, a dynamic, attack minded central-midfielder, step forward Stuart Armstrong.
There is an obvious elephant in the corner to address – he played for Celtic – but, having started just 41% of the Saints Premier League games and at 28-years old, he may see the opportunity to return home as a chance to reclaim his starting place in Steve Clarke’s Scotland side, born in Inverness and having started his career at Inverness Caledonian Thsitle before moving to Dundee United, he is far from a born and bred Hoops fan.
For Rangers, he ticks a lot of boxes and if they were able to sell Glen Kamara for the £8million rumoured to be his asking price and bring in Armstrong for a bargain, it would be money well spent and almost zero risk, with Ross Wilson the former Director of Football at the south coast side he may be well placed to strike a deal.
Gerrard needs to add quality to his side, not quantity, Armstrong is an established international, a previous winner in Scotland and has not looked out of place in the Premier League, he is also coming into his “peak” years – in a season where gambling isn’t an option, the Saints midfielder is a sure thing.