Rangers linked midfielder, Jack Wilshere, has yet to find a new club and despite claiming to have been fit for months, the longer he goes without signing for anyone, the harder it will be for him to hit the ground running.
BBC pundit, Danny Mills, speaking to Football Insider, believes that this is very much the case as players across the country get up to full match fitness and the current travel restrictions continue to have an impact on movement across the globe.
So what has Mills said?
Speaking about Wilshere’s situation and what it could mean for the 28-year old former Arsenal man, he said:
“The longer he is without a club the harder it is going to be for him to find one.
“People will start questioning his fitness and his injury record, which we have already done time and time again. How many games can you get out of him?
“He obviously has a huge amount of talent but is that enough?
“Suddenly he may have to go on trial to get that fitness back and if you are pushing yourself you can break down.
“The longer it goes on the harder it is and with all of these travel restrictions at the moment, it is not like he can just whizz off to America or China. It is not easy at the moment for Wilshere.”
So is Mills correct?
It’s all fair and well doing all the running and cardio training that you want to but it is no substitute for playing football and getting match practice, even specific training doesn’t prepare fully for competitive games.
Mills is right, given Wilshere’s injury record, many teams will have been looking at a potential short-term deal but be put off by the fact that he won’t be available for selection for several weeks, his body simply wouldn’t allow him to do double sessions or high intensity work to get up to speed quicker.
Somebody will inevitably take a punt on him – much in the way West Ham did – but given Rangers recent performances and in particular from the midfield, the risk to reward ratio is significantly skewed in the favour of risk with Ross Wilson unlikely to blot his copy book with such a big gamble.