Some transfers can seem pretty far fetched when they first break, those old enough to remember will recall Ronaldo, Robin van Persie and Lionel Messi himself all being linked with moves to Rangers, and yet, there is no smoke without fire.
In the case of Xavi Simons, one of European football’s hottest prospects and Golden Boy nominee, initial reports that Giovanni van Bronckhorst was eyeing up the PSG playmaker for a January pre-contract move may not be as fanciful as first seemed after Spanish news outlet AS claimed, via Football Scotland, that Rangers are in fact leading the race for the Dutch youth cap.
The 18-year old is capable of playing either as a central number 10 or as a centre-forward, but, given his relatively diminutive stature, I wouldn’t expect him to be leading the line against Scottish Premiership hammer throwers anytime soon but, as one of the three players behind Alfredo Morelos, he could well be lining up in the near future.
It seems laughable that the report puts us ahead of the likes of Barcelona – where Simons came through their academy – but it would appear that first-team football is more important to the youngster and for this he should be commended, you only have to look at the talent in front of him at PSG to understand why he wants to move on.
If the anxiety over losing the likes of Joe Aribo and Glen Kamara is causing sleepless nights, surely the prospect of signing Simons is enough to cheer up even the most pessimistic of Gers fans?