Rangers fans of a certain age will remember signing the likes of Basile Boli, Brian Laudrup and Ronald de Boer, Champions League winners and players who had played at the very highest level of international football but, those days are gone and we need to adjust our reality in terms of potential targets.
We have also learned the hard way about over spending and in the cases of Akinkunmi Amoo and Andreas Skov Olsen, if the prices that have been banded about are correct, then we have done the right thing by not getting involved in a price war.
The signing of Amad Diallo came from nowhere, and for all that it is “just” a six-month loan deal, it doesn’t reflect on the Ivory Cast international’s ability, if he impresses, he knows that the first-team at Manchester United is an awful lot closer – this is a player who could end up costing the Premier League side £37million after all.
So, Rangers fans shouldn’t be disheartened with the latest rumour surrounding Manchester City starlet James McAtee and the “enquiry” that The Daily Mail claims we have made, the teenage midfielder who is top goalscorer in Premier League 2 with 14 goals and four assists in 15 games, not bad for an attacking midfielder.
This is the same market that we managed to attract Calvin Bassey and Charlie McCann from and it is already looking like it could prove to be beneficial both on and off the pitch.
McAtee isn’t just another academy player either, he has played for the first-team at Manchester City, so he must be doing something right when you consider the size and depth of their squad – one of his appearances being in the Premier League too.
They might not be Champions League winners but in Diallo and McAtee we are looking at two of the best teenagers in England, playing alongside the likes of Joe Aribo, Glen Kamara, Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos, I’m sure they’ll do just fine.