Speculation linking Lyndon Dykes with a move to Ibrox has never been far from the back pages and after the West Lothian club signed striker Salim Kouider-Aissa from Queens Park, it looks as though the move could be closer than ever.
Speaking to Football Insider, former Premier League forward Noel Whelan believes that the signing could signal the departure of Dykes sooner rather than later.
So what has Whelan said?
When asked to reflect on the recent rumours that the player himself fanned the flames of, he said:
“When a team makes a signing in a position where the player currently playing that position has been linked with another club, it looks to me like a replacement.
“That then paves the way for that player to make a transfer.
“Teams will not let a player go unless they have somebody to cover that position. Now that deal has been done it is like a chain reaction.
“Livingston have got their replacement in so the door is open for Dykes to leave.”
So is Whelan correct?
Rangers are in a similar position themselves with Alfredo Morelos, he is a player who – like Dykes – is pivotal to how the team plays and contributes hugely to the team’s overall game plan.
If Steven Gerrard was to sign Dykes though, it wouldn’t be as a replacement for Morelos, it would be as an additional attacking option, the 24-year old is capable of contributing but questions will be asked of the board and recruitment team if Rangers go into the season with him as their main man up front.
Livingston are said to be looking for in the region of £2million for Dykes, but with their targets signed, and the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic, they may be open to negotiate in the same way that saw Ross Wilson shave £1m off Ianis Hagi’s price tag.
Whelan is right though, on this occasion Kouider-Aissa very much looks like the perfect man to slot into the charismatic striker’s role under Gary Holt, whether or not Dykes’s next destination will be Ibrox is another story.