How many more signings will Glasgow Rangers make?
Following Russell Martin’s appointment, this squad at Ibrox was always going to require a mass overhaul, and so it has proved, with six new signings arriving already, and more forecast to follow, ahead of the start of Champions League qualifying in less than a fortnight.
Given that his three former jobs have been south of the border, it’s little surprise that Martin is primarily shopping in the English lower leagues, so could Rangers take another highly-rated youngster on loan from a Premier League outfit?
Rangers targeting another loan signing
Already this summer, both Max Aarons and Nasser Djiga have arrived at Ibrox on loan, joining from Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively.
Meantime, Joe Rothwell, Emmanuel Fernandez and Thelo Aasgaard have come in on permanent deals following impressive campaigns in the EFL; Lyall Cameron’s move from Dundee was pre-agreed in January.
Now, a report by Alex Crook of talkSPORT claims that Rangers are ‘keen’ to sign goalkeeper Carl Rushworth on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion.
They add that the Seagulls ‘have already rejected’ a bid from an EFL Championship club amongst lots of interest in the 24 year old, who wants to have a big say in his own future.
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Rushworth joined Brighton from Halifax Town as an 18-year-old and, despite being on their books for six years, is yet to make a senior appearance for the Albion.
He has been out on loan at Worthing, Walsall, Lincoln City, Swansea City and, most recently, Hull City, making just three appearances for the Tigers before being recalled by Brighton, an unused substitute in the Premier League 14 times last season.
Now, he is ready to play on a regular basis, so could Rangers offer him those highly-craved first-team opportunities?
How Carl Rushworth would improve Rangers
It will be interesting to see how Martin views his goalkeeping options, after Liam Kelly and Jack Butland both played 45 minutes each of Sunday’s pre-season friendly against Club Brugge at Ibrox.
For almost two seasons, Butland had been the undisputed number one, but a string of errors saw him dropped by interim manager Barry Ferguson in April, with Kelly notably starting both legs of the Europa League quarter-final against Athletic Club Bilbao.
The statistics below underline that neither are perhaps the goalkeeper Martin is looking for.
Goals against per 90
1.11
3rd
1
2nd
Save %
65.5%
17th
67.9%
11th
Clean sheet %
37.5%
5th
40%
4th
Errors leading to a goal
2
4th
0
17th
Errors leading to a shot
2
2nd
1
3rd
Punches
10
10th
4
19th
Average SofaScore rating
7
9th
6.93
13th
As outlined, neither Butland nor Kelly covered themselves in glory last season, hence why a new goalkeeper should be a priority.
Rushworth, on the other hand, is highly-rated and on the up, with his performances at Swansea labelled “incredible” by his manager in South Wales, Luke Williams.
Meantime, Andy Naylor of the Athletic praises his ‘presence and performances’ as well as his ‘good range of passing’, forecasting he’ll go to the very top, so let’s assess his statistics from the last season he did enjoy regular first-team football.
Goals conceded
65
2nd
Shots on target faced
206
3rd
Saves
143
3rd
Save %
70.9%
7th
Clean sheets
10
13th
Post-shot xG – goals conceded
+5.5
2nd
Attempted passes
1,897
2nd
As the table outlines, Rushworth was not only one of the best but also one of the busiest goalkeepers in the EFL Championship in 2023/24, playing for a Swansea side who finished 14th but conceded 65 goals.
Thus, Rushworth ranked in the top three for saves and, most notably, post-shot expected goals – goals allowed, essentially saving 5.5 goals more than expected, ranked behind only Mads Hermansen, who would go on to star in the Premier League, for this metric.
Thus, Rushworth is clearly a highly talented, high-potential player, one that would fill a position of need at Rangers.
When compared to signings that have already been made, namely Thelo Aasgaard, the Norwegian international may well be a roaring success in Glasgow, but a new central midfielder was not near the top of the list of priorities, considering they already have Mohamed Diomandé, Connor Barron, new signing Lyall Cameron and last year’s player of the year Nicolas Raskin.
Goalkeeper as a position, on the other hand, has a ginormous question mark dangling over it, it’s anyone’s guess who will be donning the gloves against Panathinaikos a week on Tuesday, hence why Rushworth could well be a transformational signing.
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