Rangers have been linked to young Dutch striker, Thijs Dallinga, who enjoyed a prolific season recently with Excelsior Rotterdam.
He banged in 36 goals over the course of the full domestic season for the club from Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s home city so the manager and his staff will be well aware of the player.
The Netherlands youth international was instrumental as Excelsior made their way back to the Eredivisie following a dramatic playoff victory over ADO Den Haag. In the second leg, ADO were winning 3-0 but a late comeback was secured by the visitors with Dallinga making in 3-3 in added on time. Another goal each followed in extra-time before Excelsior prevailed on penalties.
With his rise in prominence, the striker has been linked with moves abroad as well as probable interest from bigger clubs in the Dutch top flight.
A report from France has now named Rangers as potential suitors for the up and coming goal scorer, along with Lorient and Genoa:
“Glasgow Rangers also have their sights on the 21-year-old centre-forward and are expected to be FC Lorient’s main challenger in the deal.”
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Last season, VitalRangers spoke to an excellent source in the Netherlands regarding GvB’s desire to take the job at Ibrox, following the departure of Steven Gerrard. The same close observer of Dutch football recently told this outlet regarding Dallinga:
“There are lots of clubs interested and I am not surprised. He is a young, inexperienced player but very talented.”
Thijs Dallinga will be another name to add to the mix. Is there space for his potential arrival as well as the likes of Antonio Colak? That is hard to see whilst both Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe remain. Rangers at most, will operate with three main strikers to choose from.
At 21, Thijs Dallinga’s profile fits with the ideal model of bringing in a player, to further develop and sell on. With an expected considerable outlay, he would need to hit the ground running in the event of a move to Glasgow. Is he ready for the pressure and expectation that comes with life at Ibrox? Probably not, but it is at this stage with talented players that they need to be identified before they become too good and too expensive for Rangers to attain.
It would not be a surprise if Van Bronckhorst, Makaay, Vos and co managed to secure an emerging Dutch prospect, soon. They will certainly be watching the scene in their homeland.
Updated numbers below. They're eye-watering but must be caveated by the high-scoring nature of the Eerste Divisie, 5 players managed 20+ xG this season. Report mentioned a fee of £4.3m which I don't see Rangers being comfortable paying, an interesting link nonetheless. https://t.co/dY96H3myGJ pic.twitter.com/yJYwdpWNpp
— Patrick Caskie (@patrickcaskie) June 24, 2022