Some signings can be sliding door moments in terms of what could have happened if they had gone through.
Think Ronaldo or Mario Jardel in the ’90s or Stuart Pearce in the ’80s who were all linked with a move to Ibrox, however, one recent signing that got away who could still be on Ross Wilson’s radar is Premier League striker Matej Vydra.
Cast your mind back to the January transfer window in 2020 when we were desperate for a striker, Alfredo Morelos had returned from suspension but was carrying and injury but had to play due to Jermain Defoe also being unavailable.
Ianis Hagi was signed on loan with an option to buy to supplement the attack and support Ryan Kent in creating the chances but the goals had dried up – when Vydra’s name was mentioned in the last couple of days of the window, fans couldn’t help but get excited.
He has a proven track record in England and, even on loan, he was a signing that made a lot of sense, one that could have made an immediate impact and potentially helped to maintain our title challenge that, ultimately, ran out of steam – the deal was all but agreed, however, it hinged on Burnley getting a replacement in first, they didn’t, we signed Florian Kamberi, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Fast forward to the current day and Vydra will soon be able to discuss a pre-contract deal with teams outside of England, with just 345 minutes to his name for Burnley this season he is unlikely to be extending his contract, once an £11million player, he still has plenty to offer especially if we decide to cash in on the likes of Morelos – getting a top quality replacement in for free certainly helps to balance the books.
Ross Wilson has been known to go back for players that have been under consideration for a while and Vydra is obviously a player that Rangers wanted at one point, a case of “what might have been?”, could yet become reality.