We wouldn’t, would we?
Rangers will be looking to overhaul the squad over the next couple of transfer windows and a key element to success will be getting the best value for money possible out of the Bosman and pre-contract market.
Players like Tom Lawrence and John Lundstram might have limited sell on value seeing as they are in their peak years, however, when promising young talent becomes available, the opportunity to develop and make a profit is too good to turn down.
We need more Scottish players in the squad and if I said to you that there is a, highly rated, 23-year old international with 150 senior appearances to his name already, you’d probably be interested, right?
What if I told you it was Ryan Porteous?
The Hibernian centre-half has confirmed that he won’t be extending his current deal and, as a result, will be out of contact at the end of this season. He will now either be available on a cut price deal in January or a pre-contract agreement.
On paper he is exactly the type of player we should be going for, his performance for Scotland against Ukraine recently a perfect demonstration of his potential – when he “screws the nut” he can be an accomplished defender and competent distributor from the back.
Porteous, as we all know though, comes with more than just footballing ability. He has caused problems for himself both on and off the pitch and is at the stage of his career where leaving Scotland would probably be the best thing for his career.
On his day, I’d take him in a heart beat, but those days just aren’t often enough – would I look happy if we signed him, probably not.